Telangana EX-DCP held in snooping row now faces abduction and extortion case

A FORMER Deputy Commissioner of Police accused in the Telangana phone tapping case has found himself facing a fresh case of kidnapping and extortion, with the founder of a healthcare firm alleging that his business partners conspired with the DCP to orchestrate a hostile takeover.

Officers linked to the state’s Special Intelligence Bureau (SIB) are under scanner after allegations emerged that they snooped on rivals and critics of the former Bharat Rashtra Samiti government when it was in power in Telangana.

The latest case has been filed against former DCP (Task Force, Hyderabad City) P Radhakishan Rao, who has already been arrested in connection with the alleged scooping case.

The case was registered at Hyderabad’s Jubilee Hills police station after the founder of a healthcare firm alleged that he was kidnapped and extorted of Rs 50 lakh at Rao’s behest.

He alleged he was abducted by the Circle Inspector of Task Force( west zone, hyderabad city Police) in November 2018. He alleged he was taken to Rao’s office, where he was threatened and coerced to transfer the shares in his company — valued at over `100 crore — to his four partners.

He claimed that after watching the news of Rao’s arrest in the alleged phone tapping case, he felt confident in approaching the police. He said that he founded the company, which operates in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh and has over 160 centres, in 2011. It provides basic healthcare facilities, ambulances, etc, he wrote in his complaint.

He said that in early 2018, a state government called for tenders to operate emergency medical vehicles and ambulances, and his firm was about to be awarded the contract to operate 1,500 vehicles as it had quoted the lowest operating cost. However, he claimed, his partners turned against him because the cost was too low, and demanded that he hand over the company to them.

In October 2018, he filed two complaints at the Jubilee Hills police station accusing his partners of making threatening calls and intimidation, but the police did not initiate any action stating that it was a squabble over transfers of shares between partners.

Now, a case has been registered against Rao, the circle inspector, a sub-inspector, and his four business partners under IPC sections 386, 365, 341, and 120 (b) along with section 34.

A court has extended Rao’s police custody to April 12.