Hyderabad: Scam-tainted B Ramalinga Raju,
the prime accused in the multi-crore rupees Satyam Computer
accounting fraud case, and five other accused today
surrendered before a local court.
CBI DIG (Hyderabad Zone) V V Lakshmi Narayana said the
accused will be under judicial custody till July, 2011 and
will not be able to apply for bail until then.
The CBI officer said Raju and the five other accused
would be taken to the Chanchalguda Central Prison here, where
they were lodged after their arrest last year.
After rejecting Raju`s plea seeking extension of today`s
deadline, the Supreme Court had directed Raju to surrender
before the special court.
"The accused are directed to surrender on or before
November 10, otherwise the CBI shall take appropriate steps in
accordance with law," the apex court had said.
Observing that the fraud eroded the "corporate
credibility of the nation", the apex court on October 26 on
CBI plea had cancelled the bail granted to Raju by the Andhra
Pradesh High Court on August 18.
His brother Rama Raju, former Satyam CFO V Srinivas and
three other former IT company employees -- G Ramakrishna,
Venkatapathi Raju and Srisailam were also granted by the high
court.
Raju, who attended the court proceedings in the morning,
left the court without surrendering.
He once again appeared along with counsel before the XXI
Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate (ACMM) court and
informed magistrate BVLN Chakravarthi that he was
surrendering.
In January 2009, Raju had admitted to doctoring the
account books of the company for years. The IT company has
since then been acquired by Tech Mahindra which rebranded it
as Mahindra Satyam.
The fraud, alleged to be of about Rs 14,000 crore, is
being investigated by multiple agencies, including the CBI.
Raju was, till recently, undergoing in-patient treatment
for liver infection in a Hyderabad hospital.
CBI had filed the chargesheet running into over 10,000
pages, naming more than 250 witnesses. Charges were framed on
October 25 and trial is scheduled to commence from November 2.
Raju was arrested on January 9 last year, two days after
he wrote a letter to the company Board admitting to fudging
the company`s books.
-PTI
