Did Raju plan his surrender?

No person under such circumstances would have surrendered," Rahul Mehra, one of the six members of a panel on extradition set up by the ministry of external affairs says. "There must have been some kind of assurance given to him by top people in the government that he will be protected and also Raju must have been sure that the law in India is amenable and can be beaten." "If he had attempted to flee the country and had been caught by the police in a foreign country where he is wanted in connection with this case, he would probably never come out of jail in his lifetime. In India, at least he has some political bosses who can somehow try to wriggle him out of jail," senior lawyer A K Vali says. "But by surrendering he can have the court think that he could have easily left the country, could have tried to manipulate any witnesses, if any. Now, his lawyers can claim high moral ground prevented Raju from taking any decision to leave the country and submitted himself to the law of the land. This could have some kind of bearing on the ultimate outcome. There is every possibility of that," Mehra says. Mehra feels every country where Satyam has operations can initiate proceedings against him and ask for his extradition. Since he is also wanted in India, it is for the Indian government to decide if he will be extradited. "The government would rather choose to prosecute him here," Mehra told TOI.