B Ramalinga Raju, once a billionaire who led a life envy of many, spent his first night in Charalapally jail near Hyderabad on the floor sleeping like any other convicted prisoner. The fate of nine other convicts of the biggest fraud in Indian corporate history was no different.
It was a tough night with heat and mosquitoes making it worse for the new entrants, officials said. They were also provided a blanket which was of hardly any use in the sweaty atmosphere. Raju, two of his brothers and seven others were sentenced to seven years of rigorous imprisonment and imposed hefty fines by the CBI court on charges of cheating, fraud and forgery among others.
While Raju, founder Chairman of Satyam Computers, was given the prisoner number 4148, his younger brother and former managing director Rama Raju was given 4147. Jail sources said that as soon as they entered the jail office, all the convicts including Raju were given the prisoners uniform, white shirt with blue stripes and a short. “like others they will have to be dressed in the uniform and sleep on the ground. There will not be any cot or bedding for them,” an official said.
While during his earlier stint at Chanchalguda jail as an undertrial, Rau was entitled to have his own cook to prepare the food, here he and his co-convicts will have to eat what is prepared by the jail staff for all the prisoners. Normally the jail food comprise of dal, sambar, rice and mixed curry and chapati or roti. Jail sources said that Raju skipped his first dinner. On the day one, Raju and others got only one newspaper only to read about their own sentencing. The TV in the hall has access only to official and drab Doordarshan channel.
As far as allocation of work to the new prisoners was concerned, jail sources said that Raju may get the opportunity to teach computer basics to the prisoners while others will have to perform the chorus like cooking, sweeping, washing or working in the prison workshop.