Hyderabad police move court to declare phone-tapping case accused as proclaimed offenders

A senior police official confirmed that the court is expected to deliver its order in the first week of February.
T Prabhakar Rao, former OSD of Telangana Special Intelligence Branch (L) and A Sravan Rao, the owner of a vernacular TV channel.
T Prabhakar Rao, former OSD of Telangana Special Intelligence Branch (L) and A Sravan Rao, the owner of a vernacular TV channel.(Photo | Special Arrangement)
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HYDERABAD: The Hyderabad police have filed a petition in a city court seeking to declare two absconding accused in the phone-tapping case as proclaimed offenders. The accused persons are: T Prabhakar Rao, former OSD of Telangana Special Intelligence Branch (SIB), and A Sravan Rao, the owner of a vernacular TV channel.

The petition was filed under Section 84 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS). A senior police official confirmed that the court is expected to deliver its order in the first week of February.

Under Section 84 of BNSS, a court can issue a written proclamation which requires an accused to appear in the court within a minimum of 30 days from the date of publication of the notice.

Apart from this, Section 85 (1) of BNSS allows the court to order the attachment of any movable or immovable property belonging to the proclaimed offenders. According to sources, the accused allegedly created profiles of 18 Telangana High Court judges during the previous BRS regime. An official source told TNIE that forensic reports from Bhujanga Rao’s devices revealed this information.

“They created profiles of 18 judges, but this does not necessarily mean they spied on them. It was done as part of their job,” the sources said.

Meanwhile, investigators have moved an extradition petition before the central government to bring the accused back to India.

“The file is currently with the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA). Once reviewed, it will be forwarded to the US government for further action,” the source said.

A politician had complained to the Election Commission of India (ECI) during the 2023 Telangana Assembly elections that his phone was tapped. Following this, the ECI directed the Telangana DGP to submit a report, which he obliged.

The Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) during an analysis of electronic devices found a draft copy of the report the DGP submitted to the ECI in Bhujanga Rao’s device, raising further suspicions. “This was meant to be a formal conversation between the DGP and ECI, but Bhujanga Rao somehow had access to it,” a source disclosed.

As the court is expected to decide on proclaiming the accused as offenders, authorities are preparing to attach properties and further legal actions, if necessary. The focus of the investigation is now on the extradition of the accused and uncovering more details about the case.

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