While the court was pronouncing the judgment, four men were curiously following the development outside the court.
These were not family members of the accused but the middlemen who helped Ramalinga Raju acquire over 4,200 acres land in the name of 30 different companies.
The Rajus paid only 25 percent of the land cost to the sellers and these middlemen were under tremendous pressure from the hundreds of farmers for clearance of remaining amount of Rs 11.15 crores.
Dosapati Goud, one of the middlemen told Media, “We met Ramalinga Raju last about a month ago and he promised to clear the dues, even if he is sent to jail. But, we are now worried“.
'Guilty' Raju Maintains Calm
“Guilty“ was the verdict delivered by the special sessions court in Hyderabad against all the 10 accused in the long-drawn Satyam Computer Services fraud case. Taken into custody immediately after the verdict, the 10, including A1 (accused number 1) B Ramalinga Raju, were confined to the muggy court room for more than two hours for the sentence to be read out.
“We are going to appeal,“ said Raju's lawyer, on a day when anyone walking out of the court was hounded for details and developments behind closed doors.
Dressed in a light blue checked shirt, Ramalinga Raju was a study in nonchalance. Not so the former partners at Price Waterhouse S Gopalakrishnana and Srinivas Talluri. While the auditors looked shaken, much like their immediate family members, Raju's mood seemed to lighten up towards the end, waiting for the warrant to be filed.
Between 10.17 am, when he entered the court premises, and his departure at 5.10 pm for the ture at 5.10 pm for the high-security prison in Cherlapally, Raju came out just once, with a Central Bureau of Investigation officer in tow.
He was seen consulting his lawyer often, smiling even at friends and relatives who came to visit him briefly.
Raju's immediate family was conspicuous by its absence, though the kin of the rest of the accused ferried cold bottled water and biscuits into the court room, waiting for the warrants to be typed out.
