Telangana High Court Grants Bail to Former Police Officers in Phone Tapping Case
On Thursday, the Telangana High Court granted bail to former Additional Superintendent of Police (SP) Bhujanga Rao and former Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) P. Radha Kishan Rao. Both were arrested in connection with the phone tapping case.
The court ordered their release on the condition that each submit two sureties of ₹1 lakh and surrender their passports. The former officers were also instructed to fully cooperate with the ongoing investigation.
This decision follows a similar ruling three days earlier, when the Supreme Court granted bail to former Additional SP M. Thirupathanna in the same case. The Supreme Court, while allowing the bail, emphasized that the trial court could impose strict conditions. Notably, Thirupathanna’s bail plea had previously been rejected by the Telangana High Court in October 2024.
The phone tapping allegations surfaced in March 2024 under the previous government led by the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS). The controversy began with the arrest of Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Praneeth Rao, following a complaint from his superior, D. Ramesh, who serves as Additional SP with the Special Intelligence Bureau (SIB).
According to investigators, the then-chief of the SIB, T. Prabhakar Rao, allegedly formed a special team within the bureau to conduct surveillance. This team, reportedly made up of trusted aides, including Praneeth Rao, was accused of tapping the phones of rival political leaders, their families, dissidents within the ruling party, businessmen, journalists, and even judges.
In total, six individuals have been named as accused in the case. Among them are DSP Praneeth Rao, Additional SPs M. Thirupathanna and Bhujanga Rao, and former DCP P. Radha Kishan Rao, all of whom have been arrested. T. Prabhakar Rao, the main accused, and Sravan Kumar, a managing director of a private news channel, are currently in the United States.
Telangana Police recently announced that they have begun the process of bringing back the two accused who are abroad. The investigation into one of the state’s most controversial surveillance cases continues to unfold.
