A year on, no headway in probe into T'gana phone tapping case

A year after the Telangana police unearthed an alleged mobile phone tapping operation during the previous Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) regime that created a major sensation in the state politics, the investigation into the case has made no headway, people familiar with the matter said on Wednesday.

- Srinivasa Rao Apparasu

HYDERABAD:

The phone tapping case first surfaced on March 10 last year, when D Ramesh, 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 (DSP) D Praneeth Rao, of illegal phone tapping, they added.

On March 13, 2024, police arrested Praneeth Rao and further investigations revealed a large-scale surveillance operation targeting various individuals, including political opponents, businessmen, journalists and even judges, they said. Police named six accused in the case — former SIB chief T Prabhakar Rao, Praneeth Rao, additional superintendents of police Mekala Thirupathanna and N Bhujanga Rao, former deputy commissioner of police T Radha Kishan Rao, and TV channel owner N Shravan Kumar.

The accused were booked under several sections, including 409 (criminal breach of trust) and 201 (disappearance of evidence) of the IPC, besides section 3 of the Prevention of Damage to Public Property Act, and sections 65, 66 and 70 of the IT Act, police said. Out of the six accused, Prabhakar Rao and Shravan Kumar are absconding and are believed to be in the United States. The other four were arrested soon after the case was registered, but all of them are now out on bail. After securing bails, Praneeth Rao was released on February 14, Thirupathanna on January 27 and Bhujanga Rao and Radha Kishan Rao on January 30, police said.