HYDERABAD: Twenty-three days after former Special Intelligence Bureau (SIB) DSP D Praneeth Rao was arrested in the phone-tapping case, the Anti Corruption Bureau (ACB) on Tuesday reportedly sought to probe the accused officers for their alleged corrupt deals. The ACB’s move comes after revelations that apart from tapping phones, the accused allegedly threatened and extorted hundreds of crores from jewellers, realtors and hawala operators during the BRS regime.
It is believed that the accused used the extorted money to purchase villas and other real estate properties on the outskirts of Hyderabad. The ACB is therefore expected to start investigating the accused officers soon, sources said.
Meanwhile, a local court adjourned the hearing to Wednesday on the petition filed by the police seeking five-day custody of A-1 Praneeth Rao and Additional Superintendents of Police (ASPs) Bhujanga Rao (A-2) and Thirupathanna (A-3). The counsels for the accused sought time for filing counter affidavits. All the three accused have been lodged in Chanchalguda jail. The seven-day custody of Praneeth Rao was over on Tuesday and the police sought the custody of three accused for further investigation into the alleged extortion. The accused, according to sources, tapped the phone conversations of the businessmen and used the audio clips to demand money from them.
Meanwhile, the ruling Congress and BJP accused the K Chandrasekhar Rao government of tapping phones of not only the leaders of Opposition parties but also the then Finance Minister T Harish Rao’s wife and MLC K Kavitha’s husband.
Alleging that the ‘unconstitutional act’ was not confined to leaders and businessmen of Hyderabad, Congress MLA from Mahbubnagar Yennam Srinivas Reddy requested the DGP to set up complaint cells at all district headquarters to receive complaints on phone tapping. He alleged that a BRS minister tapped his phone.
Medak Lok Sabha BJP candidate M Raghunandan Rao demanded that former CM K Chandrasekhar Rao be made A-1 in the case. He alleged that BJP candidate Komatireddy Rajagopal Reddy lost the Munugode Assembly bypoll due to phone tapping. The advocate-turned politician offered to provide evidence if he was given notices in the case. The Congress and the BJP leaders alleged that the devices, being used to conduct surveillance on Maoists, were set up near PCC chief A Revanth Reddy’s residence. “Revanth Reddy is the victim No 1 in the phone tapping incident. I am the victim No 2,” he said.
BRS working president and former IT Minister KT Rama Rao alleged that the Congress was enacting the phone-tapping drama as it was unable to implement its assurances. “You have power in your hands. You can order an inquiry into phone tapping. We are not scared of you,” Rama Rao said.
The phone-tapping issue is likely to dominate the ensuing Lok Sabha polls as the case has already snowballed into a political slugfest. It was on March 4, the State government suspended former SIB DSP Praneeth Rao for ‘criminal breach of trust, mischief causing damage, destroying evidence, criminal conspiracy and other crimes’.
Interestingly, no case was filed against him under Telegraph Act, 1885, the law that governs phone tapping. The police arrested Praneeth Rao five days after his suspension. Based on the information provided by Praneeth Rao, the police arrested ASPs Bhujanga Rao and Thirupathanna. Former Intelligence chief Prabhakar Rao and former Task Force officer OSD Radha Kishan too were named accused in the case. The police issued lookout notices against Prabhakar Rao and Radha Kishan. However, Prabhakar Rao, who is in US, reportedly spoke to police officials and assured that he would cooperate with the investigation.
