Prabhakar Rao faces a proclaimed offender tag
Hyderabad: The noose is tightening around T. Prabhakar Rao, former officer on special duty of the Telangana Special Intelligence Branch (SIB) and the prime accused in the phone-tapping case, as the Metropolitan Magistrate Court in Hyderabad has issued a proclamation directing him to appear before it by June 20. Failing to do so will trigger proceedings to declare him a proclaimed offender.
Under Section 84 of the BNSS, a court may issue a written proclamation requiring an absconding accused to appear within a minimum of 30 days from the date of publication. In the last week of January, Hyderabad police filed two petitions before the Nampally court seeking permission to begin the process of declaring both Prabhakar Rao and another accused, A. Sravan Kumar Rao, as proclaimed offenders. The police stated that both were absconding abroad, ignoring official notices, and evading arrest.
While the petition was pending, Sravan Kumar approached the Supreme Court, expressing his willingness to appear before the Special Investigation Team (SIT) on the condition that he would not be arrested. The apex court granted him protection, following which he returned to Hyderabad and appeared before the SIT.
On Wednesday, the Nampally Court allowed the police to proceed with the proclamation against Prabhakar Rao and set June 20 as the final date for his voluntary appearance. If he fails to comply, the court may conduct the trial in his absence after 90 days from the framing of charges.
Meanwhile, the court on the same day reserved its order on a petition filed by the Central Crime Station (CCS) police seeking seven days' custody of Sravan Kumar in connection with a cheating case. The complaint was lodged by Akarsh Krishna, director of Akhand Infratech India Private Ltd, who alleged that Sravan Kumar and his associates cheated the company of over Rs 6.58 crore under the pretext of purchasing iron ore. The police sought seven days' custody of Sravan Kumar to examine him.
