HYDERABAD: T Prabhakar Rao, the former chief of the Special Intelligence Bureau (SIB) and the prime accused in the phone tapping case, returned to Hyderabad on Sunday evening after spending over 15 months in the United States.
Rao, who had been evading questioning since the case was registered at Panjagutta police station in March 2024, landed at RGIA days after the Supreme Court granted him interim protection from arrest.
He is likely to appear before the Special Investigation Team (SIT) at Jubilee Hills police station on Monday for questioning in connection with alleged illegal surveillance during the previous BRS regime.
All six accused questioned so far
Earlier, following a request from the state police, the Ministry of External Affairs had revoked Rao’s passport. However, after securing relief from the apex court, he approached the Indian Embassy in the US and was issued a one-time travel document to return to India.
With Rao’s arrival, all six accused in the case have now been questioned or taken into custody. Of them, four — D Praneeth Rao, Bhujanga Rao, M Thirupathanna, and Radha Kishan Rao — were arrested and later released on bail. Another accused, Shravan Kumar Rao, who had also fled the country, returned recently under similar protection from the Supreme Court. He is currently lodged in Chanchalguda jail in connection with a separate case registered by Hyderabad’s CCS police.
According to investigators, one of the accused confessed that phones of a High Court judge, political leaders, journalists, and members of civil society were illegally tapped during the BRS regime. The SIT is expected to probe Prabhakar Rao on his role in the surveillance network and the alleged misuse of state machinery during his tenure as SIB chief.
