Hyderabad: The special investigation team (SIT) probing the unauthorised phone tapping has identified about a dozen of entrepreneurs and mediators who colluded with retired DCP G. Radha Kishan Rao and his associates who reportedly extorted huge amounts by threatening Tollywood personalities and businessmen, making them forcibly sign on assignment and sale deeds.
In this connection police teams reportedly registered additional cases of extortion, blackmailing illegal confinement, and threatening Radha Kishan Rao, his aide and task force inspector Gattu Mallu, and sub-inspector Mallikarjun.
Radha Kishan Rao, sources said, collected huge amounts of money from both sides of some disputes after tapping their phones and blackmailing them.
Radha Kishan Rao who was posted as DCP of the commissioner’s task force in the city along with Mallu and Mallikarjun. They also reportedly threatened several businessmen and got ownership rights transferred on benami names and also on the names of the entrepreneurs who hired Radha Kishan Rao’s team, police sources disclosed.
Special teams are in search of several entrepreneurs, and mediators who were connected with Radha Kishan Rao in extortion, blackmailing, and threatening top businessmen and popular film producers, police sources disclosed. Police have got the names of more than 14 such suspects.
Meanwhile, In a press release, west zone DCP S.M. Vijay Kumar, who is heading the phone tapping probe, cautioned against speculative news reports on the investigation.
He said a probe was on to check if the vested interests were behind such speculative reports to create confusion and derail the investigation. Vijay Kumar said all relevant documents were part of the court record and advised against putting up fake news.
Giving an update on Crime No. 243/2024 of the Panjagutta police, which covers snoop gate, the DCP said four officials had been arrested and the investigation was on to find out the role of other persons. A few prime suspects were absconding and the efforts are on to trace them and the circumstances under which they went absconding.
“Due to the sensitivity involved in the case as it involves the processes of SIB, a premier intelligence agency dealing with the collection of intelligence on the left-wing extremism... and the grave nature of the crimes reported, the investigation is being conducted strictly in a professional manner as per law in the interest of public safety and justice,” Vijay Kumar said.
