The Hindu Business Line : Ramalinga Raju to face lie-detector test

Hyderabad, July 9 Founder and ex-Chairman of Satyam Computer Services Ltd, Mr B. Ramalinga Raju, will finally have to undergo lie-detection and brain-mapping tests in connection with the Rs 7,136-crore Satyam fraud, which he admitted to on January 7, 2009.

A designated CBI court on Thursday ruled in favour of the plea made by the Central investigating agency seeking permission to conduct lie-detection test on Mr Raju, his brother Mr B. Rama Raju and ex-Chief Financial Officer of Satyam, Mr V. Srinivas. The Court ordered that the tests should be done within eight weeks.

The Rajus and Mr Srinivas are currently undergoing remand in Chenchalguda jail here along with other accused in the case.

“Though the lie-detection and brain-mapping tests (also known as polygraph tests) are not admissible as evidence in a court of law, they are of immense help to the investigation agencies to establish the character of an accused by indicating whether he is lying in the interrogation,” said a senior police official.

The CBI, which is probing the case, had filed a petition before the court on March 24 to conduct the test on Mr Raju. The CBI counsel had argued that the investigating agency was of the opinion that Mr Raju had not shared “everything” with it and there was need for more evidence.

In a recent submission to the Andhra Pradesh High Court, the CBI said apart from fudging the accounts of Satyam, Mr Raju had also “diverted” and “misappropriated” funds of the Hyderabad-based IT major through accounts in ‘some’ foreign banks.

The other charges of CBI include inflation/fudging of Satyam’s balance sheets for nearly seven years, sale of Satyam shares by close relatives/family members of the Raju brothers from 2006 onwards (when the share price shot-up) and deviation from corporate governance norms.