Nampally Court denies bail to former ASP Bhujanga Rao in phone tapping case

Hyderabad: The Nampally Court on Wednesday rejected the interim bail extension of suspended Additional Superintendent of Police (ASP) N Bhujanga Rao in connection with the phone tapping case and ordered him to return to judicial custody.

Rao, who had secured a 15-day interim bail in August for cardiac treatment on health grounds, is one of four police officers arrested in the case. He was named as the second accused in the case for allegedly destroying computer systems and official data.

Rao was taken into custody on March 23, and since then, he and the other accused have repeatedly sought bail.

The phone tapping row emerged after the BRS lost power to Congress in the 2023 Telangana Assembly elections. Allegations were levelled that a team within the Special Intelligence Bureau (SIB) had tapped the phones of key opposition leaders, including then Congress MP and current Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy, along with dissidents within the BRS, journalists, and even judges.

Following the controversy, additional SP D. Ramesh from SIB filed a complaint with Panjagutta police in March, which led to the arrest of former DSP Praneeth Rao. Rao is accused of destroying hard drives and data after Congress's electoral victory last December.