National: In a major relief for Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) has given him a clean chit in connection with an alleged Rs 371 crore skill development corporation scam. Naidu was arrested last year on an investigation launched by the then Jagan Mohan Reddy-led government and spent 50 days in prison before getting interim bail on October 31, 2023.

Naidu was arrested on September 9 last year as per an investigation conducted by Andhra Pradesh CID. The Andhra Pradesh Police, on October 13, told the Supreme Court that it will not arrest the TDP chief in the FiberNet case till October 18 as his petition related to the Skill Development Corporation scam is pending in the court.

Naidu was lodged in Rajamahendravaram prison for allegedly misappropriating funds from the Skill Development Corporation, which resulted in a purported loss of over Rs 300 crore to the state exchequer. He got the interim relief on October 31, 2023, on medical grounds as his advocates informed the court that Naidu needed the bail to undergo cataract surgery.

On November 20, the Andhra Pradesh High Court granted regular bail to the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) leader in the skill development case. Over a week later, the Supreme Court allowed him to participate in public rallies, and meetings.