Ramalinga Raju

Hyderabad, Jan. 9: From baby-faced genius to corporate con artiste without parallel, the fall of Byrraju Ramalinga Raju has stunned village and city alike.

The sleepy village of Garagaparru in West Godavari district, home of the Satyam founder, is in shock following the revelations that could have an impact on the life of the ordinary people there.

For the villagers of Garagaparru, 320km from Hyderabad, Raju, 54, was more than a son of the soil, he was also their icon: he was born here and did his schooling in the nearby town of Bhimavaram.

“We have also lost a lot of money as we had invested in Satyam shares. But we are more worried as to how Raju would come out of this,” said Sagi Veerraju of Bhimavaram, a village senior.

The combined investment of the Raju clan and the aqua farmers of West Godavari in Satyam is estimated at Rs 100 crore. Many of their relatives are also working in the company in its offices around the world. Bhogadi Raju, another villager, pointed out: “Don’t forget that nearly 3,000 IT students from the district are working in Satyam.”

In Hyderabad, the sense of outrage and disbelief is much the same among Raju’s associates in political circles and bureaucracy. “How come we never saw through his baby face and did not realise that Ramalinga Raju was a criminal,” said a senior IAS officer, who had shared good times over a few pegs of Scotch and even been on foreign trips together with the Satyam founder.

Raju, for them, was a corporate czar who had made it big through hard work. A long-time associate recalled that while the Satyam chief wasn’t a spendthrift or flashy in his lifestyle, he had a liking for artefacts and electronic gadgets, enjoyed Thai food, Italian leather, German-engineered cars and clothes tailored in London.

Raju, he said, used a BMW in India, but preferred his Rolls and Mercedes Benz when abroad, where he owned plush apartments in at least 15 countries. In Andhra Pradesh, he had sprawling bungalows in five towns, including Hyderabad, Visakhapatnam and Kakinada.

But, say his homeland villagers, Raju never forgot his roots and launched several welfare measures in Garagaparrju through his Byrraju Foundation, named after the community he belongs to.

The villagers have expressed fear over the continuation of the services rendered by the organisation.

The Satyam group has introduced Internet services in the village, besides setting up schools and colleges in the east and west Godavari districts.

“What would happen to the Grama-IT programme and e-medicine, tele-school and water supply schemes of the foundation in some of the villages,” asked Sagi Ramaraju, another aqua farmer who holds 5000 shares of Satyam.

Raju used to deposit Rs 1 lakh in the name of girls from the Byrraju community. “By the time they attain marriageable age, he would hand over the money along with the interest,” said Byrraju Prabhakar.

Byrraju Foundation district convener Gadiraju Nagababu said even if funding stops, they would carry out welfare programmes for the benefit of the people of the village.