Three Telangana cops denied bail in phone tapping case

Hyderabad, June 27:  A city court on Thursday dismissed bail petitions of three suspended police officers who are accused in the alleged phone tapping case.

The Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Court denied bail to former Additional SPs Bhujanga Rao and Tirupathanna and former DSP Praneeth Rao.

The court, which had reserved its orders on Wednesday, pronounced the same on Thursday.

The accused had sought bail on the ground that police had not filed the chargesheet when they had moved their application.

The lawyers of the accused had argued that police had not filed a chargesheet within the mandatory period of 90 days from the date of registration of the FIR.

However, the public prosecutor submitted to the court that the chargesheet was submitted to the court on June 10 but, due to some errors, the court had returned the chargesheet, and it was re-submitted.

It may be recalled that police had to file the chargesheet for the third time on June 25 after the court returned the same twice.

Three serving police officers and a former officer have so far been arrested in the case, relating to alleged tapping of phones of politicians, business people, celebrities and even some judges during the previous government of BRS.

Several opposition leaders, including then Congress MP and present Telangana Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy, dissidents within the then ruling party, businesspersons and journalists were among those whose phones were allegedly tapped by a team within the Special Intelligence Bureau (SIB).

The phone tapping and snooping row came to light after the BRS lost power to Congress and an official in SIB who was part of the operation was found destroying the collected data.

In March, a case was registered with the Panjagutta police after a petition was filed by additional SP, SIB D. Ramesh.

Praneeth Rao was arrested after he allegedly destroyed hard disks and other data after Congress came to power in December last year.

Later, the police arrested Bhujanga Rao, Tirupathanna and former Deputy Commissioner of Police P. Radha Kishan Rao.