Chandrababu Naidu booked over new virus strain claim

Kurnool: District SP Dr Fakkeerappa Kaginelli said Kurnool I Town police registered a case against former chief minister and TDP national president N Chandrababu Naidu on charges of spreading false news that a new strain N440K exists in Kurnool.

Addressing the media here on Saturday on the issue, the SP said Chandrababu Naidu made a false propaganda that a new strain of N440K virus, which is said to be 10 to 15 times more dangerous than the previous variant exists in Kurnool district.

But the scientists of Central for Cellular and Micro Biology (CCMB) had clarified that for the samples of Telangana, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh states, the genome sequencing is B.1.36. The strain was prevalent in December 2020 and January, February 2021 and dropped down drastically in March, Dr Kaginelli said.

The SP the case against Chandrababu Naidu was registered on the basis of a complaint by a senior advocate Masipogu Subbaiah. A case under Sections 155, 505(1)(b) and National Disaster Management Act 2005 was registered.

The SP said a notice would be served to Naidu under Section 41 (a) CrPC. The investigation officer would go to Hyderabad on Sunday to serve the notice to Naidu, he said, adding that Naidu would be asked to attend the inquiry within a period of 7 days from the date of receipt of notice.