Phone Tapping Case: Prime Accused T. Prabhakar Rao Seeks Anticipatory Bail in HC

Hyderabad: Phone-tapping prime accused T. Prabhakar Rao, former IGP and chief operating officer of the State Intelligence Bureau (SIB) during the BRS government tenure, has approached the Telangana High Court seeking anticipatory bail.

Rao has been staying in the USA for a year and the special investigation team (SIT) probing the phone-tapping case has declared him an absconder and secured a red corner notice to bring him to Hyderabad.

In his anticipatory bail plea filed before the High Court through his counsel, Rao claimed that the phone-tapping case was lodged with a political motive and the allegations made in the complaint, FIR and chargesheet, which were widely reported in the media, were false and made up to implicate him for political interests.

Rao alleged that the SIT, without legal evidence, had narrated a story of alleged phone interceptions and destruction of recordings to please the political set-up in the government.

Denying that he had absconded, Rao said he went to the USA on March 11, 2024, whereas the SIT listed him as an accused in the case on April 29, 50 days after his departure. Rao said that when he came to know about case, he had filed a memo, dated May 2, through his counsel, informing the court about the circumstances of his travel to USA, which was for medical purposes, prior to registration of the case and much before his implication in this case.

Rao said he had contacted the investigating officer and provided his contact details and expressed his willingness to co-operate with the investigation. When the petitioner was in regular contact with the investigating officer, it cannot be said that he was evading the probe, the plea said.

Since December 2023, no police officer, much less from the SIT, had approached the petitioner for inquiry into the case, Rao said in his petition.

On the allegation of his involvement in destruction of recording of phone interceptions, Rao stated that such activity is taken up after review by State Level Review Authority which includes the Chief Secretary and follows standard operating procedure. The permission was given in first week of December 2023, Rao said.

Refuting the allegation that he had recommended the name of second accused D. Praneeth Rao for accelerated promotion due to reasons like caste, Prabhakar Rao submitted that he had recommended the names of more than 100 police officers, including the officer who gave the complainant regarding the alleged phone- tapping.

Rao submitted that he was suffering from various ailments including a tumour and had gone to the US for surgery. After the registration of the FIR and implication of several officers on alleged confessional statements and allegedly false accusations of the SIT, he could not come back on apprehension, the petition stated.