Hyderabad: Radakishan Rao, a former Deputy Commisioner of Police (DCP) of the Hyderabad Police's Commisoner Task Force, was arrested on Friday in connection with a case of phone tapping and destruction of certain computer systems and official data.

A police release noted that Rao had been called for questioning to the Banjara Hills police station and ended up confessing his involvement “in the commission of the reported crimes of conspiracy to develop profiles of private persons, exploiting the official resources meant for lawful duties.”

He has confessed to his involvement in the commission of the reported crimes of conspiracy to put surveillance over such private persons without authorisation and illegally, to carry out certain actions in a politically biased manner, to exploit official resources to transport money illegally when the election Model Code of Conduct is in force, to destroy evidence of their illegal activities by damaging public property and causing disappearance of evidence in collusion with other accused persons, it claimed.

Based on his confession, he was arrested by the Investigation Officer today around 08:00 and was produced before a local court. Judicial custody was sought, which was accepted, the release said.

He has been remanded in judicial custody till April 12, it added.

The phone tapping and information erasure case so far

On March 23, two additional superintendents of police who were accused of colluding with suspended DSP of the Special Intelligence Bureau (SIB) D Praneeth Rao, who was earlier arrested by Hyderabad police for allegedly erasing intelligence information from various electronic gadgets as well as for alleged phone tapping during the previous BRS government, were arrested.

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

As part of investigation into the case, the police had recently issued a lookout circular (LOC) against former SIB chief T Prabhakar Rao and the then deputy commissioner of police of Commissioner's Task Force P Radhakishan 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, police had said, adding they are suspected to have gone abroad.

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. 

With inputs from PTI.