Archive · 26 Dec 2025
Telangana SIT Questions Ara Mastan
A team of investigators in Telangana, India, is looking into a big case about illegal phone tapping.
The main person they are questioning is a former police officer named T. Prabhakar Rao.
He is accused of setting up a team to tap the phones of people who were against the previous government.
The team includes other police officers and a TV channel owner.
The Supreme Court is involved, and they might let the investigators keep questioning Prabhakar Rao for a longer time.
The case started when someone reported that phones were being tapped illegally, and it turned out to be a big operation involving many important people.
Prabhakar Rao left the country but came back after the Supreme Court asked him to.
Additionally, a political analyst named Ara Mastan was questioned for the third time by the SIT.
They looked at his phone calls with important people to see if phone tapping happened and who ordered it.
The SIT probing the phone tapping case may seek an extension of police custody for former SIB chief T. Prabhakar Rao.
Prabhakar Rao's initial custody ends on Thursday, with the Supreme Court hearing the matter on Friday.
The SIT has questioned Prabhakar Rao and other accused, including former Task Force DCP T. Radha Kishan Rao and TV channel owner N. Sravan Kumar.
The case involves illegal surveillance of political opponents, businessmen, journalists, and judges during the BRS regime.
Ara Mastan, a poll strategist, was questioned for the third time by the SIT at Jubilee Police Station.
- Who
- Former Telangana Special Intelligence Bureau (SIB) chief T. Prabhakar Rao, Ara Mastan, and other accused including T. Radha Kishan Rao, Mekala Thirupathanna, N. Sravan Kumar, and D. Praneeth Rao
- What
- Phone tapping case involving illegal surveillance of prominent individuals during BRS rule
- When
- Case surfaced on March 10, 2024; Supreme Court hearing on Friday; Ara Mastan questioned on Friday
- Where
- Hyderabad, Telangana, India
- Why
- To investigate allegations of illegal phone tapping and criminal conspiracy
- Primary Accused
- T. Prabhakar Rao
- SIT Members
- 9-member team including Hyderabad Police Commissioner V. C. Sajjanar
- Case Registration Date
- March 10, 2024
- Charges Filed Under
- IPC Sections 409, 427, 201, 120-B, 34, PDPP Act Section 3, IT Act Sections 65, 66, 70
- Supreme Court Hearing Date
- Friday (after custody end on Thursday)
- Initial Custody Duration
- One week (from December 12 to December 18)
- Accused Resignation
- After BRS defeat in 2023 elections
- Return to India
- June 8, 2024
- Individual Questioned
- Ara Mastan
- Questioning Location
- Jubilee Police Station, Hyderabad
- Call Data Examined
- Phone calls made by Ara Mastan with political leaders and prominent figures since 2020