Former Satyam financial official sent to jail

HYDERABAD - A magistrate here Sunday remanded former Satyam Computer Services chief financial officer (CFO) Vadlamani Srinivas into judicial custody till Jan 23 for the Rs.70 billion fraud in the IT bellwether.

Srinivas was taken to Chanchalguda central jail, where the company’s disgraced founder and former chairman B. Ramalinga Raju and his brother and former managing director B. Rama Raju have been lodged since Saturday.

The former CFO was arrested by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) late Saturday. CID officials interrogated him Saturday night and Sunday.

Around 5 p.m. Sunday, he was brought before the magistrate at his residence in West Maredpally, Secunderabad.

Sixth additional chief metropolitan magistrate D. Ramakrishna remanded him into judicial custody. The same magistrate Saturday remanded the Raju brothers into custody till Jan 23.

Rajus’ lawyer S. Bharat Kumar also appeared for Srinivas.

Kumar told reporters that the magistrate sent the former CFO to judicial custody.

He said he would move the bail petition of the Raju brothers and Srinivas before the court Monday.

Earlier, CID officials searched the residence of Srinivas in Habsiguda and confiscated a few documents relating to Satyam accounts.

CID has not ruled out interrogation and arrests of some former Satyam directors.

The market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), which is conducting a separate investigation into the fraud, is also likely to move a petition in the court Monday, seeking custody of all the three arrested Satyam officers.