<p>Hyderabad: Telangana's former Special Intelligence Branch (SIB) chief, retired IPS officer T Prabhakar Rao, finally appeared before the Special Investigation Team (SIT) appointed by the Congress government in Hyderabad on Monday. He was questioned for almost eight and half hours.</p><p>As the prime accused in the sensational phone tapping case, Rao's appearance came nearly 14 months after the FIR was registered regarding alleged surveillance activities during the BRS regime. </p><p>Until now, Rao had evaded SIT notices while staying in the United States.</p><p>The investigation team had issued lookout notices against him, and Telangana police had even approached Interpol to issue red corner notices. The ongoing investigation has revealed the extensive scope of the alleged surveillance operation.</p><p>According to the probe, a DSP in the SIB had amassed a huge cache of data, recording at least 10 lakh two-way conversations over an extended period. </p><p>Sources within Hyderabad police indicate that the officer operated three private war rooms equipped with exclusive private servers to conduct the phone tapping. The DSP has reportedly confessed that all these activities were carried out under Prabhakar Rao's supervision.</p>.Phone-tapping case: Supreme Court grants interim protection to senior IPS officer of Telangana .<p>The intercepted conversations allegedly include recordings of the then-opposition leader and current Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy, real estate developers, bureaucrats, and several media personalities.</p><p>Rao has been asked to appear before SIT again in June 11.</p><p>Union Minister of State for Home Affairs, Bandi Sanjay Kumar said that the SIT should make public the statement given by Prabhakar Rao.</p><p>“He is responsible for the downfall of many activists like me. Prabhakar Rao underwent 'counseling' with KCR’s family in the US only. He surrendered and appeared for inquiry as per a well-crafted plan." </p><p>"The statement given by Prabhakar Rao during the inquiry must be made public. Because it’s not just about CM Revanth Reddy – he tapped the phones of Congress, BJP, BRS leaders, judges, and even mine. Many lives were destroyed due to Prabhakar Rao. Numerous families were ruined and pushed to the streets."</p><p>"He stooped so low that he even tapped private conversations between husbands and wives, creating a situation where couples couldn’t even speak freely on the phone," Kumar said.</p><p>He added that the public has the right to know under whose instructions the phone tapping was done. "After the phones were tapped, what was done with that data? Who received the recordings? Who were blackmailed using those audio files?" Sanjay asked.</p><p>“Strict legal action must be taken against Prabhakar Rao in accordance with the court's guidelines. People’s trust in the Congress government is already weakening. Not a single corruption case has seen proper investigation progress during the 18 months of Congress rule. At least now, the government should argue strongly in court. Prabhakar Rao and the masterminds behind him must be held guilty,” he added.</p>
<p>Hyderabad: Telangana's former Special Intelligence Branch (SIB) chief, retired IPS officer T Prabhakar Rao, finally appeared before the Special Investigation Team (SIT) appointed by the Congress government in Hyderabad on Monday. He was questioned for almost eight and half hours.</p><p>As the prime accused in the sensational phone tapping case, Rao's appearance came nearly 14 months after the FIR was registered regarding alleged surveillance activities during the BRS regime. </p><p>Until now, Rao had evaded SIT notices while staying in the United States.</p><p>The investigation team had issued lookout notices against him, and Telangana police had even approached Interpol to issue red corner notices. The ongoing investigation has revealed the extensive scope of the alleged surveillance operation.</p><p>According to the probe, a DSP in the SIB had amassed a huge cache of data, recording at least 10 lakh two-way conversations over an extended period. </p><p>Sources within Hyderabad police indicate that the officer operated three private war rooms equipped with exclusive private servers to conduct the phone tapping. The DSP has reportedly confessed that all these activities were carried out under Prabhakar Rao's supervision.</p>.Phone-tapping case: Supreme Court grants interim protection to senior IPS officer of Telangana .<p>The intercepted conversations allegedly include recordings of the then-opposition leader and current Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy, real estate developers, bureaucrats, and several media personalities.</p><p>Rao has been asked to appear before SIT again in June 11.</p><p>Union Minister of State for Home Affairs, Bandi Sanjay Kumar said that the SIT should make public the statement given by Prabhakar Rao.</p><p>“He is responsible for the downfall of many activists like me. Prabhakar Rao underwent 'counseling' with KCR’s family in the US only. He surrendered and appeared for inquiry as per a well-crafted plan." </p><p>"The statement given by Prabhakar Rao during the inquiry must be made public. Because it’s not just about CM Revanth Reddy – he tapped the phones of Congress, BJP, BRS leaders, judges, and even mine. Many lives were destroyed due to Prabhakar Rao. Numerous families were ruined and pushed to the streets."</p><p>"He stooped so low that he even tapped private conversations between husbands and wives, creating a situation where couples couldn’t even speak freely on the phone," Kumar said.</p><p>He added that the public has the right to know under whose instructions the phone tapping was done. "After the phones were tapped, what was done with that data? Who received the recordings? Who were blackmailed using those audio files?" Sanjay asked.</p><p>“Strict legal action must be taken against Prabhakar Rao in accordance with the court's guidelines. People’s trust in the Congress government is already weakening. Not a single corruption case has seen proper investigation progress during the 18 months of Congress rule. At least now, the government should argue strongly in court. Prabhakar Rao and the masterminds behind him must be held guilty,” he added.</p>