Prabhakar Rao Helped BRS With Phone Tapping: Telangana to HC

Hyderabad:In the alleged phone tapping case, the Telangana government informed the Telangana High Court that though T. Prabhakar Rao was allowed to intercept phones in an emergency, he and his team misused their powers to intercept telephones of people from all walks of life, including Constitutional functionaries without following the procedures laid down under relevant laws.

Ravi Gupta, special chief secretary, home department, filed a 17-page counter affidavit before the High Court in a suo-motu writ petition, which was taken up by the High Court based on a news report in Deccan Chronicle on the phone tapping incidents during the BRS government.

He submitted that Prabhakar Rao and his special operation team members — Praneeth Rao, Bhujanga Rao, Thirupathanna and Radha Kishan Rao — who allegedly involved in the phone tapping case had built profiles of various people and obtained CDR's, IPDR's and Location Services among others deviating from their lawful duties and abusing their powers as public servants to help the then ruling party.

Further, it was submitted that the then government in 2019, upon the recommendations of the chief of intelligence, and the director-general and head of the police force, authorised Prabhakar Rao along with the Chief of Intelligence Naveen Chand, and Rajesh Kumar, of the Counter Intelligence Cell for issuing emergency interception orders in accordance with the provisions of Rule 419A of the Indian Telegraph Act.

But after his superannuation in 2020, the then BRS government reappointed Prabhakar Rao and on the recommendations of IGP, intelligence, the government issued GO by modifying the previous GOs to facilitate Prabhakar Rao, a retired IPS officer, as the designated authority and revised the designation from "Inspector General of Police, Special Intelligence Branch" to "Chief of Operations (Intelligence Special Intelligence Branch)/Inspector General of Police, Special Intelligence Branch, STB, Intelligence.

Ravi Gupta also informed the court that apart from extending the services of Prabhakar Rao, the government addressed all telecom and internet service providers, including the department of telecommunication (DOT). informing them that Prabhakar Rao was authorised to issue orders under Section 419A of the Indian Telegraph Rules, 1991, concerning the interception of telephones and monitoring of internet service providers in the public interest as the designated authority.

“The concerned competent authority must be informed of such interceptions by the approving authority within three working days, and the interceptions must be confirmed by the authority within seven working days. But, in this case, Prabhakar Rao without informing the approving authority, intercepted the phones and internet of various persons for the benefit of the then Ruling party.

Submitting that the investigation is going as per due procedure, Ravi Gupta requested the court to close the suo motu writ petition on alleged phone tapping and the court may issue further orders in this issue.