The central government is weighing a bail-out package for the scandal-hit Satyam Computer Services, said  Andhra Pradesh chief minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy. He did not elaborate.

''Anything like this will have an adverse impact. Let us look into it and hope we can manage it,'' Reddy said on the sidelines of the Pravasi Bhartiya Divas meeting in Chennai. ''None of us expected this, it is a shock to us," he added.

Reddy also said the scandal "would have adverse impact to the investments coming to Andhra Pradesh."

The state government has other reasons, too, to insist on a bailout of Satyam. Its sister concern and construction outfit Maytas Infra has bagged several government orders, including Hyderabad metro rail project, Machilipatnam port project and several airport projects in the state.

The construction company, which is promoted by Raju's sons, is 36 per cent owned by Satyam Computer Services.

"Maytas is one of the investors in Metro Rail, so if the project is still viable, it can go ahead," the chief minister said, adding, the chief secretary is looking into their work.

He said the state police's crime branch is looking into the Satyam fiasco and will submit a report to him soon.

Meanwhile, the capital market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) and the registrar of companies (RoC) have started investigations in Hyderabad. The officials also seized books and records from Satyam`s registered office at Secunderabad. The team has contacted top officials of the Andhra Pradesh government.

At the same time, the union minister of communication and information technology A Raja said the department of corporate affairs is also investigating the Satyam scam.

In fact, the Andhra CM has written to prime minister Manmohan Singh suggesting the formation of a management committee comprising Infosy's Narayanmurthy, Wipro's Azim Premji and TCS's Ramadorai to take care of Satyam.

"We all have to make effort to see that the company survives, the 53,000 employees survive, their order book also survives. So, I have sought the intervention of the prime minister," he said.

Ramalinga Raju and his Nagarjuna counterpart K S Raju are two of the most influential Rajus in India. Ramalinga Raju is also close to the former chief minister Chandrababu Naidu and his TDP.

Critics, however, smell a political rat in the deals between Satyam-Maytas and the Andhra government, especially in the Hyderabad Metro Rail project.

Given the muted reactions from the different political parties, including the more vocal BJP and the Left, critics suspect behind-the-scenes efforts are on to bail out Raju.