The Hyderabad police has named former state intelligence bureau chief T. Prabhakar Rao as the prime accused in the illegal phone tapping case. A lookout notice has been issued in the name of Rao, who is believed to have absconded to the United States.
Rao, who was the Special Intelligence Bureau chief during K. Chandrashekar Rao's regime, has reportedly absconded to the United States. The former intelligence chief allegedly ordered the illegal tapping of phones during previous regime. Besides Rao, police have also issued notice against then deputy commissioner of police of Commissioner's Task Force (a wing of Hyderabad Police) P. Radhakrishna and a senior executive of a Telugu TV channel.
Two additional superintendents of police were arrested by Hyderabad Police in connection with the case and for destroying certain computer systems and official data on Saturday. The police officials--Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police Thirupathanna and Additional Superintendent of Police N. Bhujanga Rao--who had earlier worked as additional superintendents of police in the Special Intelligence Bureau (SIB) and Intelligence Department respectively, were on Sunday remanded to judicial custody.
The two additional superintendents of police were accused of colluding with suspended DSP of the SIB, D. Praneeth Rao, who was earlier arrested by Hyderabad police for allegedly erasing the intelligence information from various electronic gadgets as well as for alleged phone tapping during the previous BRS government. "During questioning, the two police officials confessed to their involvement in the reported crimes, including conspiracy to monitor private persons illegally by developing their profiles, abusing their official positions; to cause disappearance of evidence by destroying public property to conceal their involvement in collusion with the already arrested D. Praneeth Kumar alias Praneeth Rao, DSP (under suspension), and some other persons," the release said. Further investigation is under progress, they said.
On March 13, Praneeth Rao, who is accused of developing profiles of unknown persons and monitoring them clandestinely, without authorisation and illegally, besides destroying certain computer systems and official data, was arrested, police earlier said. Praneeth Rao was recently suspended by the Telangana government. He was a DSP during the previous BRS dispensation and was subsequently working in the office of the Director General of Police (DGP). He was earlier accused of tapping the phones of opposition party leaders.
