Two additional SPs arrested in Telangana phone tapping case

Hyderabad: Two additional superintendents of police have been arrested by Hyderabad Police in connection with the case of phone tapping and destroying certain computer systems and official data.

During investigation, Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police Thirupathanna and Additional Superintendent of Police N Bhujanga Rao were arrested, an official release from Hyderabad police said late Saturday night.

The two police officials, who had earlier worked as additional superintendents of police in the Special Intelligence Bureau (SIB) and Intelligence Department respectively, were on Sunday remanded in judicial custody.

In a related development, the police has issued a lookout circular (LOC) against former SIB chief T Prabhakar Rao and then deputy commissioner of police of Commissioner's Task Force (a wing of Hyderabad Police) P Radhakrishna and a senior executive of a Telugu TV channel.

The lookout circular was issued against them as they were not available for investigation in the case and were allegedly not cooperating, They are suspected to have gone abroad, a senior official said on Sunday.

The two additional superintendents of police were accused of colluding with suspended DSP of the SIB D Praneeth Rao, who was earlier arrested by Hyderabad police for allegedly erasing the intelligence information from various electronic gadgets as well as for alleged phone tapping during the previous BRS government.

'During questioning, the two police officials confessed to their involvement in the reported crimes, including conspiracy to monitor private persons illegally by developing their profiles, abusing their official positions; to cause disappearance of evidence by destroying public property to conceal their involvement in collusion with the already arrested D Praneeth Kumar alias Praneeth Rao, DSP (under suspension), and some other persons,' the release said.

Further investigation is under progress, they said.

On March 13, Praneeth Rao, who is accused of developing profiles of unknown persons and monitoring them clandestinely, without authorisation and illegally, besides destroying certain computer systems and official data, was arrested, police earlier said.

Praneeth Rao was recently suspended by the Telangana government. He was a DSP during the previous BRS dispensation and was subsequently working in the office of the Director General of Police (DGP). He was earlier accused of tapping phones of opposition party leaders.

Based on a complaint filed by an additional superintendent of police of the SIB on March 10, a case was registered against Praneeth Rao and others at 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, and copying intelligence information into personal drives, police said.