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Phone tapping accused’s police custody extended
The Supreme Court extended former SIB chief T Prabhakar Rao's police custody in a phone tapping case by a week, as a new SIT investigates.
The Supreme Court on Friday ordered extension of police custody of former Telangana special intelligence bureau (SIB) chief T Prabhakar Rao and prime accused in the alleged illegal phone tapping case, by one more week, even as the state government constituted a fresh special investigation team (SIT) to intensify the probe, people familiar with the matter said.
The nine-member SIT would be headed by Hyderabad police commissioner V C Sajjanar and comprise Ramagundam police commissioner Ambar Kishore Jha, Siddipet police commissioner S M Vijay Kumar. deputy commissioners of police (DCPs) Ritiraj and K Narayan Reddy, Greyhounds group commander M Ravinder Reddy, additional DCP K S Rao, assistant commissioner of police P Venkatagiri, deputy superintendents of police Ch Sridhar and Nagender Rao.
Assistant commissioner of police, Jubilee Hills, Venkatagiri will continue to be the investigating officer, a statement from the DGP’s office said, adding that the SIT shall complete the investigation in the case and file a charge sheet expeditiously.
Prabhakar Rao surrendered before the investigating officer on December 12, a day after the Supreme Court directed him to surrender for custodial interrogation.
As the police custody came to an end on Friday, the investigating authorities approached the Supreme Court seeking further extension of the police custody on the ground that he was not cooperating in the probe and refusing to divulge key information.
Following a hearing of the arguments, a division bench comprising Justices B V Nagarathna and R Mahadevan extended the police custody of Prabhakar Rao by one more week till December 26.
The bench provided him significant interim relief by directing that no coercive steps be taken against him from the date of his release until the matter is heard next in January 2026. The court further clarified that this protection is contingent upon the former SIB chief’s full cooperation with the investigation whenever summoned by the authorities.
The phone tapping case first surfaced on March 10, 2024, when D Ramesh, the additional superintendent of police (ASP) of the Special Intelligence Bureau (SIB) registered a complaint with the Panjagutta police in Hyderabad, accusing deputy superintendent of police D Praneeth Rao, of illegal phone tapping.
On March 13, 2024, the police arrested Praneeth Rao and further investigations that revealed a large-scale surveillance operation targeting various individuals, including political opponents, businessmen, journalists, and even judges.
The police have named six accused in the case, including former SIB chief T Prabhakar Rao, DSP D Praneeth Rao, Additional SPs Mekala Thirupathanna and N Bhujanga Rao and former DCP T Radha Kishan Rao, besides N Sravan Kumar, a television channel owner.
The accused were booked under Sections 409 (criminal breach of trust), 427 (mischief), 201 (disappearance of evidence) and 120-B read with 34 (criminal conspiracy) of the IPC, besides Section 3 of the Prevention of Damage to Public Property Act (PDPP Act), and Sections 65, 66 and 70 of the IT Act.
