The Punjagutta police in Hyderabad registered a case against suspended DSP Praneeth Rao for allegedly damaging computers, hard disks, and other data at the office of the Special Intelligence Bureau (SIB). The case was filed based on a complaint by the Additional Superintendent of Police who claimed that Rao, a former SIB employee, entered the office, damaged equipment, and deleted data after cutting off the power supply to the SOT room. Charges were filed under various sections of the IPC, PDPP Act 1984, and IT Act against him, and the police are currently investigating the matter.
During his time at SIB, Rao had two rooms to himself and operated 17 systems with an exclusive internet connection. He allegedly developed profiles of individuals without authorization and monitored them secretly. Records, both physical and electronic, went missing from the office in 2024. It was discovered that Rao had been copying intelligence information onto his personal pen drive and external disks by misusing his position.
On December 4, 2023, Rao allegedly turned off cameras and destroyed old hard drives containing decades worth of data, as well as information he had gathered illegally. To cover his tracks, he replaced the destroyed hard drives with new ones without permission. All of these actions were carried out by turning off CCTV cameras without authorization.
