PNS|Hyderabad
Former TG Special Intelligence Bureau (SIB) chief T. Prabhakar Rao, a key accused in the phone tapping case who has been evading arrest for a year, is coming to India immediately after receiving a one-time entry passport.
The Supreme Court had directed Prabhakar Rao to come to India within three days after receiving the passport.
Prabhakar may appear before the Special Investigation Team (SIT) on June 5. The retired Indian Police Service (IPS) officer, who has been in the United States for 14 months, is expected to arrive as directed by the Supreme Court last week.
Prabhakar is reported to have conveyed to the SIT that he would appear before it on June 5. The retired police officer has given an undertaking to the Supreme Court that he will return to India soon after receiving a one-time entry passport and cooperate with the investigation.
The investigating team hopes to make big progress in the case regarding the alleged tapping of the phones of politicians, businessmen, journalists and even judges under the BRS government.
On May 29, the Supreme Court 29 ordered the authorities to return his passport to Prabhakar to enable him to return to India. The SC had also directed Prabhakar to give an affidavit undertaking that within three days of receiving the passport/travel document, he will return to India.
A bench of Justice BV Nagarathna and Justice Satish Chandra Sharma had passed the order on a petition by Prabhakar, challenging the Telangana High Court order dismissing his petition for anticipatory bail. The bench also barred the police from taking any action against Prabhakar till further orders.
Prabhakar’s counsel had submitted in court that he had to apply for special permission to return to India as his passport had been suspended. The court was told that he had gone to the US when the FIR was registered against him. The retired IPS officer was subsequently declared an absconder, and his passport was also revoked.
Stating that Prabhakar is being hounded by the present government of Telangana, the lawyer also brought to the court’s notice that a red-corner notice has been issued against him.
The Hyderabad Nampally criminal court recently issued proclamation orders against Prabhakar for evading proceedings for over a year. Prabhakar , who was heading the SIB when the BRS was in power, has been declared an absconder by the SIT probing the case.
