HYDERABAD: The reconstituted Special Investigation Team (SIT) is likely to become an albatross around the neck of politicians involved in the phone-tapping case, as the investigation team has reportedly adopted a seven-pronged strategy to fix responsibility. Before filing a supplementary chargesheet, the reconstituted SIT has planned a detailed investigation process, primarily focusing on the involvement of politicians.
First, Hyderabad Police Commissioner VC Sajjanar has decided to directly question T Prabhakar Rao, former SIB chief and the main accused in the case. Sajjanar may begin questioning Prabhakar Rao from Saturday, as his police custody was extended by the Supreme Court on Friday by a bench of Justice BV Nagarathna and Justice R Mahadevan. The apex court said he would be released after interrogation on December 26 and directed that no coercive action be taken against him until the next date of hearing.
It may be recalled that the latest SIT, constituted on Thursday with nine officials, is working under the direct supervision of Sajjanar.
Second, IPS officers in the SIT, including Ambar Kishor Jha and others, will simultaneously question the other accused — Radhakishan Rao, Bhujanga Rao, Thirupatanna, Praneeth Rao and Shravan Kumar. Based on the first SIT report, the second SIT may pose additional questions to them.
SIT may submit supplementary chargesheet in a month
In the next stage, the SIT is likely to question former DGPs, intelligence chiefs, home secretaries and other officials again. The fourth stage involves re-examining the forensic audit reports already available. Subsequently, the SIT will question political leaders and other officials based on the outcome of the forensic audit analysis.
As the sixth step, the SIT is likely to conduct searches at the residences of politicians, former officials and private individuals allegedly involved in the phone-tapping case.
The seventh strategy involves the remaining officials in the reconstituted SIT — Vijay Kumar, the investigating officer, and Venkatagiri — seeking written information from officials of the previous SIT that probed the case and filed the original chargesheet. The information sought is likely to include details of the alleged involvement of politicians and the role of former officials.
After completing these steps, the SIT is expected to file a supplementary chargesheet, most likely within a month.