Phone tapping case: Charge sheet filed against six accused

Hyderabad, Jun 11 (PTI) A charge sheet was filed by police on Tuesday in a court here in connection with the case of phone tapping and destroying of certain computer systems and official data.

The charge sheet was filed against six accused including a suspended DSP of the Special Intelligence Bureau (SIB), two Additional Superintendents of Police and a former Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP), who have been arrested by Hyderabad Police since March 13 for allegedly erasing intelligence information from various electronic gadgets as well as for alleged phone tapping during the previous BRS regime.

The charge sheet filed under the relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), PDPP Act and IT Act-2000, also names former SIB chief T Prabhakar Rao and a private person (who are absconding).

The arrested accused along with others have been charged with developing profiles of several persons unauthorisedly and monitoring them clandestinely and illegally in SIB and using them in a partisan manner to favour a political party at the behest of some persons and also a conspiracy in destroying the records to cause disappearance of evidence of their crimes, police earlier said.

The police had earlier said a few prime suspects were found to be absconding and efforts were on to find out their whereabouts and the circumstances under which they went absconding. Police had also issued a Look Out Circular (LOC) against former SIB chief T Prabhakar Rao.

Based on a complaint filed by an additional superintendent of police of the SIB on March 10, a case was registered against suspended DSP D Praneeth Kumar alias Praneeth Rao of SIB and others at the Panjagutta police station here on charges of criminal breach of trust by a public servant, causing disappearance of evidence, and criminal conspiracy and other sections of IPC, PDPP Act and IT Act-2000.

The case was registered against them for allegedly destroying certain computer systems and official data of the SIB, including those obtained by him clandestinely and illegally in collusion with others with an intention to make wrongful gain, the police had said.

They were also accused of developing profiles of some persons and monitoring them, causing disappearance of physical and electronic records of the SIB, copying intelligence information into personal drives, police said.

Former Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao allegedly wanted to use the "BRS MLAs" poaching case to force BJP into a compromise to get rid of the ED case against his daughter and MLC K Kavitha, according to the alleged confession statement of a former DCP, one of the arrested accused in the phone tapping case.

As per the confessional statement of former DCP P Radha Kishan Rao, 'Peddayana'--an indirect reference to Bharat Rashtra Samithi chief and former CM Chandrasekar Rao (KCR)-- wanted the arrest of BJP National General Secretary, Organisation, B L Santhosh in connection with the case of alleged attempt to poach his party MLAs.

As per Radha Kishan Rao, the then SIB chief Prabhakar Rao had started one special team under Praneeth Kumar to monitor persons of opposition parties and other associations who create political trouble to KCR and BRS.

He said Prabhakar Rao had asked him to coordinate with Praneeth Kumar for confidential information related to political work like seizure of money of opposition parties, helping transportation of money for ruling BRS party through its main fund organisers and any other special tasks related to politics to favour the BRS and KCR. PTI VVK VVK SS