‘Telangana police’s special cell in BRS regime used for snooping on Oppn’

The Special Intelligence Branch of the Telangana police, which is essentially meant for tracking the movements of the Maoists and other extremist elements in the state, was used by the previous Bharat Rashtra Samithi government to snoop on the targeted political leaders of other parties and also on rebels or dissidents within the BRS. Radha Kishan Rao was arrested on March 23 and was remanded to judicial custody for 14 days after being named as Accused No 4 in the case The information was disclosed by retired IPS officer P Radha Kishan Rao, who was the then deputy commissioner of police in the Hyderabad task force police and was associated with the SIB, during the BRS regime, in his confession statement to the Punjagutta police probing the telephone tapping case. While Duggyala Praneeth Rao, a previous acquaintance of Prabhakar Rao, was made the head of the SOT, other officials including additional superintendent of police Venugopal Rao and two other additional SPs G Tirupatanna and N Bhujanga Rao, all from the same caste, were roped into the SIB, so that they could share Prabhakar Rao’s plans and execute his plans to ensure the BRS victory for third time in 2023 elections in Telangana. “Again, after the completion of the tenure in August 2023, he got further extension as OSD for three more years by using the political influence and caste equations, at the behest of Prabhakar Rao, who used his services in the SIB to maintain hold on Hyderabad police,” the confession statement said. The remand report said Radha Kishan Rao also admitted that the SIB had also indulged in transporting of money belonging to the ruling BRS during the 2023 elections.