Telangana demotes ex-SIB officer in illegal phone tapping case
Hyderabad: The Telangana government demoted former Special Intelligence Branch officer Dugyala Praneeth Rao in the illegal phone tapping case, cancelling the accelerated promotion granted to him earlier and reverting him from the rank of Deputy Superintendent of Police to Circle Inspector.
Official orders said Praneeth Rao, a 2007 batch officer, would continue in service as an Inspector following the cancellation of his promotion. He was earlier serving as a DSP and had been suspended after his arrest in 2024 in connection with the case.
Praneeth Rao had served in the Special Intelligence Branch during the previous government and faced allegations of illegally tapping the phones of political leaders and elected representatives. The decision to demote him followed a review of his service status after disciplinary and criminal proceedings were initiated.
Illegal phone tapping case under SIT investigation
The Special Investigation Team probing the illegal phone tapping case has questioned former SIB chief T. Prabhakar Rao on multiple occasions as part of the ongoing investigation. Investigators have also examined Praneeth Rao over allegations related to illegal surveillance and destruction of digital evidence.
Police said Praneeth Rao was questioned for several hours by the SIT on June 13, 2025, at the Jubilee Hills ACP office. Investigators accused him of destroying hard disks that allegedly contained crucial data linked to the surveillance operations.
He was arrested on March 13, 2024, after Panjagutta police detained him from his residence in Rajanna Sircilla district. The arrest followed a complaint lodged by D. Ramesh, his former superior, who accused him of illegally intercepting calls of senior political leaders and government officials. The case remains under investigation.
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