Mega land deals did Ramalinga Raju in

In the first indication yet that ill-advised land deals may have done him in, disgraced former chairman of Satyam Computer Services B Ramalinga Raju reportedly told police that he was big time into the property market. When prices fell, he was trapped.

According to information pieced together by DNA from sources, Raju told the police that property deals had squeezed all his resources. Like any other realty player, Raju, too, joined hands with friends and relatives to  buy large chunks of real estate.

When prices started weakening, his partners  were keen on selling off the property, but he was still interested in holding on. He, therefore, paid off his partners and took control of the properties completely.  The probe officers are trying to check how much of this money came from his own resources, and how much from Maytas or Satyam Computer Services.

Raju probably assumed that he would be able to return the funds if the property market revived. But when it moved further southwards, he was not in a position to liquidate the assets and recover his investments. This is what led to a severe cash crunch.

Sources said the interrogators had recorded all this in the remand sheet, which was produced before the magistrate on Saturday. This couldn’t be confirmed independently though.