Phone-Tapping: IPS Prabhakar Rao To Depose On June 5

Retired IPS officer and former OSD of the Special Intelligence Branch (SIB) Prabhakar Rao, who is facing charges as the main accused in the phone-tapping cases of the BRS era, is returning to India.

Rao informed the investigation team that he would appear before it for questioning on June 5.

It is being reported that Rao had submitted an undertaking to the Supreme Court that he would fully cooperate with the investigation, and that he left for India immediately after receiving the one-time entry passport.

The court had earlier directed him to return to India within three days of receiving the passport.

Since he is a key accused in the case, the investigation team believes that his interrogation will help bring the case to a conclusion. The team is now preparing for his questioning.

For the unversed, the Revanth Reddy government, after coming to power, identified that the phones of key Opposition leaders and disgruntled BRS members were tapped during the previous government led by K Chandrashekar Rao. A Special Investigation Team (SIT) was set up to launch a probe into the matter, and Rao fled to the United States to avoid the investigation. He has been hiding in the US for the past 14 months.

The SIT has conducted an investigation, and arrested others involved in the case. It identified Rao as a key accused and made efforts to bring him back to India. However, he approached the Supreme Court, alleging that the Revanth Reddy government had targeted him. In his petition, he requested the court to direct the government not to arrest him. The petition was heard by Supreme Court Justices B V Nagaratna and Satish Chandra Sharma.

The court stated that no action should be taken against Rao until the hearing, and instructed that he be issued a passport to return to India. It also directed that he return within three days of receiving the passport, appear before the investigating officer for questioning, and cooperate fully with the investigation.