Phone tapping probe: Ex-SIB chief Prabhakar Rao keeps mum on naming top officials, Hyderabad cops may seek SC nod for custodial grilling
HYDERABAD: Former chief of Special Intelligence Bureau, T Prabhakar Rao, the prime accused in the sensational phone tapping case, has so far stonewalled investigators by refusing to name senior IPS officers or political leaders allegedly involved during the previous BRS regime.
Though he hinted that certain actions were carried out in coordination with top officials, Prabhakar Rao has remained tight-lipped on specifics, prompting Hyderabad police to consider seeking revocation of his Supreme Court-granted arrest protection.
With Prabhakar Rao allegedly not providing leads crucial to cracking the case, police plan to continue questioning him for a few more days. A final decision will soon be taken on approaching the apex court, which had earlier given him interim relief from arrest.
Officials are likely to inform the court of his non-cooperation and request permission to proceed with custodial interrogation.
So far, he has been interrogated three times. Other than referring to a letter from the then director general of police recommending his reappointment post-retirement-citing his experience in anti-Maoist operations-he has remained evasive, particularly when asked about the core allegations of surveillance.
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He has refused to name the senior officers or political leadership allegedly involved in the phone tapping.
Investigators suspect that Prabhakar Rao was instrumental in setting up the now-disbanded special operations team (SOT), headed by then deputy superintendent of police D Praneeth Rao. The unit is believed to have tapped the phones of political opponents, including current chief minister A Revanth Reddy, senior BJP leaders, and dissidents within the BRS to help the ruling party during elections.
Meanwhile, after taking the witness statements of different phone tapping victims including Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee (TPCC) president Mahesh Kumar Goud, the investigators are going to take the statements of BJP MPs Eatala Rajender and M Raghunandan Rao, Haryana governor Bandaru Dattatreya, minister Ponguleti Srinivas Reddy and Congress leader Komatireddy Raj Gopal Reddy are among those expected to be questioned.
CM Revanth and his family members, whose phones were reportedly under surveillance, may also be asked to depose.
"Based on the phone numbers identified, police will reach out to those affected and collect detailed accounts of any harassment or damage-financial, legal, or personal-suffered due to the surveillance," sources familiar with the investigation told TOI. "Their statements will help build a watertight case," a source said.
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