HYDERABAD: Former chief of the Special Intelligence Bureau (SIB) T Prabhakar Rao, named accused number 1 in the phone-tapping and extortion case, will arrive in Hyderabad on Monday, said sources.
The prime accused in the case, Prabhakar was earlier reported as absconding and the police had issued lookout notices against him. Recently, he is said to have contacted some senior officials to say he was in the US for medical treatment. Additionally, he had informed them that he would be in touch with the investigating officer.
When the probe team interrogates Prabhakar, there is a possibility that more details about the case will be revealed. After interrogating him, it is possible that the police might serve notices to BRS leaders, the sources said.
Another bizman files plaint
Another businessman Sandhya Sridhar Rao lodged a complaint against former Task Force OSD Radha Kishan Rao claiming that the latter had tapped his phone and extorted crores of rupees.
Following his complaint, the investigation team called Sridhar Rao for an interrogation at the Banjara Hills police station on Sunday. The businessman alleged that Additional SP Bhujanga Rao was also involved in threatening and extorting money from him.
‘Prabhakar order surveillance on Revanth’
The former intelligence chief is also suspected of ordering former DSP D Praneeth Rao and other officers to conduct full surveillance on the then opposition leader A Revanth Reddy, his family members, followers and associates. Subsequently, Praneeth allegedly relayed all the information gathered through eavesdropping back to him.
The case, which has been under investigation for more than 15 days, is based on a complaint filed by an additional superintendent of police of the SIB on March 10. According to the complainant, Praneeth and others were accused of developing profiles of some unknown persons and illegally monitoring their movements without authorisation. The former DSP and his team allegedly copied the intelligence information into their personal hard drives and destroyed certain computer systems and official data of the SIB.
As police started investigating the case, it came to light that Praneeth allegedly worked under the directions of Prabhakar. It was also learnt that the team had bought special tapping devices from Israel without the permission of the Union government. Using the recorded conversation, they allegedly extorted hundreds of crores from politicians and businesspersons. The probe team has invited potential extortion victims to file complaints.
So far, the police have arrested Praneeth, Radha Kishan Rao, Bhujanga Rao and Thirupattana. The investigation team has also been interrogating several other persons, including officers of the Task Force and SIB, in relation to the case.