TDP chief and former Andhra Pradesh chief minister N. Chadrababu Naidu was arrested on Saturday in connection with a fraud case involving the alleged misappropriation of funds that caused the government a loss of Rs 300 crore.

Naidu was named the “principal conspirator” and “final beneficiary” by the Andhra Pradesh police in the Skill Development Corporation scam after he was arrested in an early morning operation that involved officers knocking on the door of the caravan in which he was sleeping.

The former chief minister was arrested by the CID around 6am from a marriage hall, outside which his caravan was parked, at Gnanapuram in Nandyal.

Addressing reporters after the arrest, Andhra CID chief N. Sanjay said the investigation had identified Naidu and his party as beneficiaries of funds misappropriation. The charges in the case carry a penalty of up to 10 years in jail.

“…This case revolves around the establishment of clusters of centres of excellence in the state, with a total estimated project value of Rs 3,300 crore. The alleged fraud has caused huge loss to the government of Andhra Pradesh in excess of Rs 300 crore,” Sanjay told a news conference at the CID office in Mangalagiri.

Reacting to his arrest, Naidu posted on X: “For the past 45 years, I have selflessly served Telugu people. I am prepared to sacrifice my life to safeguard the interests of Telugu people. No force on earth can stop me from serving Telugu people, my #AndhraPradesh and my motherland.”

“Finally, truth and dharma will triumph. Whatever they do to me, I will march forward for the people,” he added.

Naidu undertook a nine-hour road journey from Nandyala to reach the CID office at Kunchanapalli in Vijayawada around 5.30pm. After the official procedures at the CID office, Naidu is expected to be produced in court in a few hours.

During his transit, TDP supporters thronged the roads at several places to raise slogans and also tried to block the passage of the convoy. They were cleared by the police.

“We offered him (Naidu) a chopper (to bring him to Vijayawada) but he refused and wanted to travel by road,” Sanjay told reporters. He said the department took care of everything keeping Naidu’s age and official position in mind. Naidu is under Z-Plus category protection.

The CID officer said: “The principal conspirator behind the entire scheme and who orchestrated the transfer of public funds from government to private entities via shell companies has taken place with the act of leadership of Nara Chandrababu Naidu.”

Naidu possesses the exclusive knowledge of transactions leading to the issuing of government orders and MoUs from time to time, which makes him the “central figure” of the investigation, Sanjay said, adding that the TDP leader’s custodial interrogation is required.

The skill development case pertains to the setting up of clusters of centres of excellence in the southern state at an estimated cost of Rs 3,300 crore, but ended up causing a loss in excess of Rs 300 crore to the government. Before the private entities involved in the project could spend any money, the state government released an advance of Rs 371 crore, which is 10 per cent of the government’s commitment. The money was allegedly diverted to shell companies through fake invoices while no delivery or sale of the items mentioned in the invoices took place. Some of the shell companies were located in Singapore.

Sanjay said the statement of public officials recorded under CrPC Section 164 clearly pointed to the involvement of former chief minister Naidu as the principal decision-maker to release the money in advance.