Former Telangana SIB chief surrenders

Former Telangana Special Intelligence Bureau (SIB) chief T. Prabhakar Rao on Friday surrendered before the Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing the sensational phone-tapping case, a day after the Supreme Court ordered him to submit for custodial interrogation.

Rao, a retired IPS officer, appeared at the Jubilee Hills Police Station as directed. The Supreme Court has permitted one week of custodial interrogation, while instructing investigators to ensure no physical harm and allowing Rao access to home-cooked food and regular medication.

The court issued the order while hearing his anticipatory bail plea, after being informed that Rao had allegedly reset only two of his five iCloud accounts and destroyed sensitive data — including hard disks allegedly dumped in a river. His counsel argued the deletions were done under official protocol and that one iCloud account could not be reset due to a deactivated US phone number.

Rao is accused of running an illegal surveillance operation during the previous BRS government by forming a special SIB team to tap phones of politicians, businessmen, journalists, activists and even judges. The scandal surfaced in March 2024 with the arrest of DSP D. Praneeth Rao, followed by the arrests of multiple senior officers.

After the BRS defeat in 2023, Prabhakar Rao resigned and left for the US shortly before the case was filed. The Supreme Court later facilitated his return, and as per his undertaking, he came back to India on June 8.

His surrender marks a key turn in one of Telangana’s most politically sensitive investigations.