Crime Branch not to seek extension of Satyam’s remand

Odisha Sun Times Bureau
Cuttack, Aug 23:

The Odisha Crime Branch police, which is scheduled to produce Satyam Sekhar Raula, the so-called son of Sarathi Baba alias Santosh Raula, in the court tomorrow, will not seek further extension of his remand.

This was informed by the Crime Branch ADG BK Sharma on Sunday.

Crime Branch has collected some vital information about the vast financial empire that Sararthi Baba had built over the years in the course of its interrogation of Satyam during his three-day remand, sources in the state investigating agency said. Unlike his father, who sought to stonewall most of the questions asked to him, Satyam was ‘singing’ during the interrogation, the sources added.

The Crime Branch sleuths are hopeful of tracing more property and unearth more dubious deals based on the information extracted from Satyam during his interrogation. The interrogation has revealed transactions running into crores in sectors as varied as real estate an entertainment done through Satyam Charitable Trust.

Sources in the Crime Branch said that Satyam’s interrogation proved that his ‘father’ had lied about his financial assets and transactions. He has revealed some vital information about luxury flats, massive landed property and huge deposits of cash and other valuables, including gold, the sources said.

It may be mentioned that a special Crime Branch team had picked Satyam from Mumbai on August 18, 12 days after he went missing on the eve of the arrest of Sarathi Baba by the Crime Branch from his ashram at Barimula in Kendrapara district. The team brought him to Cuttack the next day and formally arrested him after a two-and-half-hour long interrogation. After a day-long grilling, Satyam was produced in the SDJM court the next day and taken on three-day remand by the Crime Branch.

The Crime Branch have registered cases against Satyam under section 120-B, 467, 468, 471, 411, 423, 371, 341 and 34 of the IPC.