Finally, it had to come to this. Indeed, it was just a matter of time before Anand Mahindra, Big Cahuna of the Mahindra Group, decided that the name of Satyam Computer Services Limited had to disappear into the mists of time. The board of Tech Mahindra, the company acquired Satyam Computer Services Limited, the storied software services company that was run into the ground by founder Byrraju Ramalinga Raju and his brother and accomplice, Byrraju Rama Raju, in April 2009. I have an idea that Mr. Mahindra and the senior leadership team of Tech Mahindra will decide to drop the Satyam name altogether from the masthead.

I guess there will be many people in Hyderabad who will mourn the passing of Satyam Computer, because at the height of its glory, Satyam had more than 45,000 people on its payroll, many of them in the 10 offices Satyam had in Hyderabad. Working for Satyam gave the employee a badge of honor in Hyderabad. Banks were more forthcoming in giving credit cards and loans to Satyam employees.

Mr. Raju was treated as a rockstar by industry in Hyderabad. The government always had its doors open for Mr. Raju. He would be given the treatment usually accorded to royalty whenever he made a typically low-profile entry at any industry do, or even a private event like a wedding. He was feted by industry lobbies in Hyderabad, Mumbai, and New Delhi. Western media fawned over Mr. Raju.

And he kicked it all away, suborning the greater good of Satyam to his private agenda of creating a business empire for his sons. Mr. Raju had built an institution, but in the end, his greed and recklessness did the company in, and when the heat of his criminal enterprise became too much, he tried to get of out the Satyam kitchen by “confessing”. Mr. Raju, essentially, betrayed the trust of millions of his countrymen, and he may eventually go to jail for his perfidy.

In the meanwhile, the only thing one can say about Satyam Computer Services’ brand name is: R.I.P.