Home Minister now says Raju ‘surrendered’

Jana Reddy Assures cooperation to SEBI and Registrar of Companies Orders probe into leak of info to a daily from confidential document HYDERABAD Home Minister K. Jana Reddy said here on Monday that B. Ramalinga Raju, former chairman of Satyam Computers, “surrendered” to the police in contrast to Chief Minister Y. S. Rajasekhara Reddy’s statement on Sunday that was he was “picked up” by the police. The Home Minister said the police, indeed, were on a search to trace Mr Raju in line with the CID investigation ordered by the government but before they could close in on him, he himself came to the office of the Director-General of Police and surrendered. He said the police had acted following a written complaint lodged with them by an investor from Alwal. Mr Reddy said the government would extend cooperation in the investigations being carried out by various agencies like SEBI, Registrar of Companies and the Serious Frauds Investigations Officer. The Home Minister assured that the government would also facilitate the media to take photos of Mr. Raju without any problem at Chanchalguda or any other place when the opportunity presented itself the next time. Meanwhile, Mr Jana Reddy has ordered an inquiry into the episode in which high-ranking police officials allegedly leaked information from a confidential document to a vernacular daily, enabling it to publish a “baseless” report against him. The Minister rejected the charge made in the report that he had cleared a proposal to lease out/sell the land adjacent to the compound wall of the Police Training College in Anantapur for construction of a shopping complex as sought by M. Mareppa, till recently a Minister. Assures action At a press conference here on Monday, Mr Reddy said, “I did not clear the request for sparing the land for a commercial complex as alleged in the report.” He said the document with its contents was since published in the paper and this revealed that some high-ranking police officials had connived against the government. He said it was an act of indiscipline and impropriety and severe action would be taken against them under the inquiry. He, however, made it clear that the government had no plan to lease out or sell the land.