Nara Lokesh, the general secretary of the Telugu Desam Party (TDP), underwent a prolonged questioning session lasting over six hours conducted by the Andhra Pradesh Police CID on Tuesday. The inquiry was related to the Amaravati Inner Ring Road scam, and he has been summoned to appear again on October 11.

Following his lengthy interrogation at the CID’s Economic Offences Wing-II office in Tadepalli, Guntur district, Lokesh addressed the media, stating, “I was questioned for approximately six and a half hours by CID officials. They instructed me to return at 10 am on Wednesday and handed me a 41 A (CrPC) notice on the spot.” Interestingly, Lokesh mentioned that the officials posed numerous questions unrelated to the Inner Ring Road case.

During the questioning, Lokesh was also asked about his role as an executive director at Heritage Foods Ltd and his involvement with the TDP during its tenure in the state between 2014 and 2019.

The Inner Ring Road (IRR) scandal revolves around alleged irregularities in the construction of an internal ring road within Amaravati city. The CID has asserted that the road’s alignment was altered to confer undue benefits upon companies owned by TDP leaders, including former Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu.

Lokesh has claimed that his father’s arrest was motivated by ‘political vengeance,’ asserting that there was no substantial evidence of wrongdoing. In the Inner Ring Road case, Lokesh has been designated as accused number 14 (A-14).

Currently, Chandrababu Naidu is detained in the Rajamahendravaram central prison, facing allegations of misappropriating funds from the Skill Development Corporation, which purportedly resulted in a loss of over Rs 300 crore to the state treasury.