After verdict, Raju puts up a brave face

The most-talked-about man at the Nampally court here on Thursday, B Ramalinga Raju, main accused in the multi-crore accounting fraud case at erstwhile Satyam Computer Services Limited, maintained his well-known cool composure and his trademark little smile all through the day.

Raju, clad in a white shirt and light brown trousers, and sporting glasses, seemed firm and stable and held his head high as he was followed by five policemen into the court room around 10:05 am. He was accompanied by his brother B Rama Raju (accused A2).

While all the accused were seated in a single row separated two metres from the entrance door, Raju was the most visible occupying the first seat. And, he was seen busily interacting with his defence counsels.

Around 11:30 am, it was learnt that the sentence might possibly be postponed to the following day (Friday). An advocate, following the developments inside the court hall, said: “The judge asked Raju what would be his explanation if the court has to award a seven-year imprisonment”.

While journalists from the entire national media, both print and electronic, descended on the Nampally court complex to cover the much-awaited landmark judgement, lensmen trained their cameras from outside the court premises, to capture moments of the 10 accused entering the court, and then being taken to the Charlapally prison later in the evening.

“Ooh. This would mean another chaotic day for us,” said a national television news channel correspondent, openly expressing her chagrin. However, V Chandrasekhar, superintendent of police, CBI, came in as a messiah, announcing that the sentence would be given today post-lunch, much to the delight of the media fraternity.  

Chandrasekhar was in the thick of the business sharing developments with the media

A CBI release, distributed by Chandrasekhar himself, stated that Raju and the accused A2 “narrated about the philanthropic activities done by them through agencies like EMRI 108 services and Byrraju Foundation and further submitted that lakhs of people had benefited on account of their social services and have prayed the court to take a lenient view on the quantum of sentence in view of the circumstances submitted by them in their statements.”

Soon, a policeman was seen carrying water for Raju, who also had biscuits during the lunch break from 12:30 pm to 1:30 pm. While Raju sported charm everytime, his relatives all looked not-so-confident.    

“He always believed in spiritual happiness rather than physical happiness. He was preparing himself to face all the consequences. A brave heart from the beginning, he was always prepared for the final verdict,” KVLN Raju, an industrialist and a distant relative of Ramalinga Raju, told Business Standard at the court complex.

Once the judgement was delivered, the immediate family members of S Gopalakrishnan and Talluri Srinivas, former Price Waterhouse auditors, tried hard to stop tears rolling down their cheeks, while the kith and kin of Ramalinga Raju expressed disappointment on the verdict.

“Raju has seen many ups and downs in his life. He has already tuned himself mentally for a verdict against him,”  said P Rambabu, an entrepreneur and friend of Raju.