ED takes over Raju's 4,000-acre property

HYDERABAD: Charging that the property was acquired from the proceeds of the Satyam scam, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Friday took possession of 4,000 acres belonging to Satyam founder B Ramalinga Raju and his family members in Loyapalli village near Ibrahimpatnam of Ranga Reddy district.

The ED, which has attached 347 such properties so far, gave some time to the Rajus for handing over these properties to them and when that didn’t happen, it began taking physical possession of the land. The property in Loyapalli is one among the 347 properties that has been attached but is the single largest asset. The ED began the process of physical attachment of the property after its adjudicating authority in Delhi last week confirmed the provisional orders issued by the ED on these properties.

Taking physical possession includes installing a board that carries a warning on it saying that this is now a property of the government and that trespassers will be prosecuted etc. Among the remaining assets which have been attached by the ED but where the physical possession is still to happen are the spacious Jubilee Hills residence of Teja Raju, son of Ramalinga Raju.