Satyam scam: Raju set to deny charges

HYDERABAD: Even as the trial in Satyam Computers was put off to July 29, former Satyam chairman B Ramalinga Raju moved his bail application in the AP High Court on Tuesday, saying that he was a law-abiding citizen and it was he who had voluntarily surrendered to the police and that he was cooperating with the investigating agencies in all respects.

The trial was to begin on Monday, but it was again put off as the accused set up legal obstacles following dismissal of one of their applications by the trial court.

The bail plea also said that the time prescribed by the high court to the CBI had expired long ago and that it was yet to frame charges.

The Andhra Pradesh High Court had recently granted bail to five accused in the multi-crore rupee Satyam scam, including Ramalinga Raju's brother and former managing director B. Rama Raju and former chief financial officer Vadlamani Srinivas.

Meanwhile The Economic Times said that Ramalinga Raju is all set to retract his confession and deny all the charges against him.

In his plea Raju said that his letter of January 2009 was a mere resignation letter from the post of the company's chairman and claimed that he was being falsely implicated in the criminal case by the CBI.

Completely denying the ‘confession' in which Raju himself had admitted to several irregularities, the accused No 1 in the Satyam scam is now turning the tables on the CBI and saying that all the charges levelled against him were cooked up by the investigating agency.

In his earlier letter, after the scam hit the headlines, Raju had admitted to the irregularities.

However, CBI is apparently confident that it would be able to prove its side.

The investigating agency had recently raised doubts about the hospital report on the health of Raju and urged the court to take a second opinion through an independent committee of doctors.