Raju is a 'C' class prisoner

Udumula Sudhakar Reddy
11th jan 2009
Raju brothers perhaps slept on the floor Sent to judicial custody till January 23
Mr B. Ramalinga Raju, who authored the Rs 8,000-crore scam at Satyam Computers, and his brother Mr B. Rama Raju perhaps slept on the floor of the Chanchalguda prison on Saturday with 30 persons accused of petty crimes like theft.
At the end of hours of interrogation by CID police and after being remanded to judicial custody till January 23, the Rajus slept on groundsheets and were provided with woollen blankets at the Chanchalguda jail admission barrack.
“They are lodged in the admission block along with 30 other remand prisoners involved in various offences. There is no separate block for them,” said the Chanchalguda jail superintendent, Mr M. Chandrashekar.
“Our doctors examined them as per the magistrate’s order,” he said. A jail official said, “We did not give them food as they came after the end of supper time.” They may have eaten before they were brought to the jail, he said.
An official said, “They will be shifted out of the admission block on Sunday. We segregate them from those accused in violent offences like dacoities and robberies.” The Rajus will be treated as “C-class” prisoners, just like other prisoners, officials said. “Those involved in dowry harassment and cheating cases are categorised soft cases and put in separate barracks,” he said. That is where the Rajus will land up if their bail applications fails.
Earlier, the Rajus were produced before the sixth additional chief metropolitan magistrate at his residence in West Marredpally on Saturday evening, after 18 hours of grilling by the Crime Investigation Department. The magistrate, Mr Ramakrishna, remanded the Rajus to 14 days in judicial custody. The Rajus were brought to the judges quarters from the DGP office complex, where they spent Friday night, at about 5.45 pm. A group of supporters of Mr Raju heckled the media members there.
Mr A. Shivanarayana, the CID additional director-general of police, said, “We have filed a petition seeking police custody.” The police filed a 15-page remand report which included confession of both brothers. Mr Raju’s advocate, Mr S. Bharat Kumar, said, the Rajus had not filed any bail petition. “The case is posted for hearing on Monday. The police has asked the jail doctors to check the health of my clients,” he said. Mr Kumar told the magistrate that Mr Ramalinga Raju was not well.
Earlier, Mr Raju had complained of chest discomfort after he was arrested by the CID on Friday. In a change of practice, police called in doctors from a corporate hospital, instead of taking them there. The doctors said the Rajus’ BP and cholesterol levels were high.
The doctors said there was no need for hospitalisation.