Hyderabad: Days after Interpol issued a red corner notice and relayed the information to US authorities, T Prabhakar Rao, former chief of the Telangana State Intelligence Bureau (SIB) and prime accused in the illegal phone tapping case, has approached the Telangana high court seeking anticipatory bail.
Rao, who has been battling tongue cancer for several years, explained that his prolonged stay in the US was due to his medical condition. He claimed that he was not involved in the phone tapping operation and did not flee the country to evade prosecution. In his petition, Rao argued that there was no direct evidence against him, apart from the confessions made by some of the other accused. He further said that he was framed in case following change of guard in the state.
“My son furnished the particulars, including my US address sought by the investigators, but they never contacted me so far,” he said. Refuting allegations that he was responsible for the destruction of records and computer gadgets following the political regime change, Rao clarified that the destruction of records was as per standard procedure. He explained that the destruction of records related to interceptions and related matters was carried out only after a review by the state-level review authority, which includes the chief secretary. He provided evidence that the necessary permission for destruction was granted in first week of Dec 2023.
Rao denied the allegations made by another accused police officer regarding his involvement in the destruction of material in the SIB. He argued that since the other accused had already been examined and relevant documents seized, there was no need for his custodial interrogation, and he requested bail in anticipation of his arrest. The case is likely to be heard next week.
