The Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) Special Court in Vijayawada on Monday granted bail to former Andhra Pradesh Crime Investigation Department (CID) chief, senior IPS officer N Sanjay, in a significant corruption case. His co-accused, Kondal Rao, also received bail. The order paves the way for their release from Vijayawada prison.
The Core Allegations and Arrest
N Sanjay, a 1996-batch IPS officer who also served as the director general of fire services, was arrested for alleged misappropriation of government funds and serious procedural violations during his tenure in both key departments. The ACB registered cases based on reports submitted by the state's Vigilance and Enforcement Department.
Sanjay had surrendered before the ACB Special Court on August 26, following directions from the Supreme Court. He was subsequently remanded to judicial custody for 15 days. The apex court had earlier set aside an anticipatory bail granted by the High Court, citing prima facie evidence, and clarified he was free to seek a fresh bail plea from the trial court.
Details of the Alleged Financial Irregularities
The case revolves around two major sets of allegations. The first concerns the AGNI-NOC project under the Fire Services Department. Tenders worth ₹2.29 crore were awarded to Sauthrika Technologies & Infra Pvt. Ltd. for developing a web portal and supplying hardware.
An amount of ₹59.93 lakh was released soon after the agreement in February 2023. However, a technical committee later found that only 14% of the project was completed by April 2023, against a stipulated two-month deadline.
Further, Sanjay faces charges related to the procurement of Microsoft Surface Pro and Apple iPad Pro devices worth ₹17.89 lakh for Fire Services officers. These were allegedly purchased without mandatory e-tendering or competitive bidding, in clear violation of government procurement norms.
The SC/ST Workshop Scam and Interlinked Firms
The second stream of allegations involves financial irregularities in SC/ST awareness workshops under the CID. A budget of ₹1.19 crore was assigned to a firm named Kritvyap Technologies Pvt. Ltd. for conducting these workshops.
Investigators later discovered that Kritvyap Technologies was a non-existent entity. The workshops were reportedly conducted by CID officials themselves at a mere cost of ₹3.10 lakh, leading to suspicions of embezzlement of the remaining ₹1.15 crore.
A critical finding by investigators was that Kritvyap Technologies shared the same address as Sauthrika Technologies, the firm awarded the AGNI-NOC tender, raising serious concerns about the pattern of awarding contracts.
Government Stance and Ongoing Probe
After examining the vigilance reports, the state government concluded that Sanjay was responsible for procurement violations, misappropriation of funds, and abuse of his official position to award contracts to questionable entities.
While bail has been granted to N Sanjay and Kondal Rao, the investigation into the alleged multi-crore irregularities continues. The ACB is expected to proceed with filing a chargesheet based on the collected evidence.
