Former SIB Chief Prabhakar Rao to return for investigation once health improves

HYDERABAD: Former Chief of the Special Intelligence Branch (SIB) and main accused in the phone-tapping case, T. Prabhakar Rao, wrote a letter to ACP Banjara Hills from the USA. In the letter, he stated that he would return to India to face the investigation in the case registered against him at Panjagutta Police Station as soon as his health improved.

Although the letter was dated June 23, it was leaked to the media recently.

"I was informed by my son that you called him on June 12 and inquired about my return to India on June 26. I originally planned to return as per my schedule, hoping that I would be fit to travel back to India. I want to bring to your notice that, in addition to my existing problem of malignant cancer, I developed high blood pressure due to the stress I have been subjected to after the registration of the current case and the wild and false allegations against me, with constant deliberate leaks to the media, thereby assassinating my character and reputation even before making me an accused in this case," he said.

Prabhakar Rao mentioned that all this was a great shock to him and his family, leading to further deterioration of his physical and mental health. He was now suffering from cardiac and renal problems and was seeking appointments with specialists in oncology, cardiology, and urology in the USA, which was forcing him to defer his return journey originally scheduled for June 26.

"My consulting doctors advised me not to travel out of the USA until my health is completely stabilized, as it may have grave consequences if not diagnosed and treated on time. However, I am willing to fully cooperate with the investigation and provide any information you think is in my exclusive knowledge and possession through email. I don't think that my non-appearance before the IO at an earlier point in time will hamper the investigation in any way, as it is already evident from the outcome of the investigation and the filing of the chargesheet," he said.

Prabhakar Rao reiterated what he conveyed to the ACP via WhatsApp call on March 22 and 23, that he had not committed nor directed anyone to commit any illegal acts or omissions while discharging his duties as a police officer, including as Chief of SIB. "While assuring to cooperate and answer all queries in person as soon as my health improves and upon my return to India, I am prepared to assist in the investigation through any kind of questioning over video conferencing or teleconferencing until I return to India," he said.

He requested the ACP to conduct a fair and unbiased investigation as per the provisions of law.

Meanwhile, the Nampally court on Wednesday again returned the chargesheet to the police over some evidence not provided to the court in the phone-tapping case. This was the third time the court returned the chargesheet since the police filed it on June 10.

A source said that while the accused were committing the offense, they were government employees. The court asked the police to submit the government sanction for the prosecution of the accused. As of now, the police had obtained the sanction for the prime accused, Prabhakar Rao, and Radha Kishan Rao.

For the first time, the police made a mistake with the FIR number and other dates in the chargesheet. In the second instance, the court returned it for not submitting several pieces of evidence.