Hyderabad: In a dramatic escalation of the high-profile illegal phone-tapping scandal, the Supreme Court has directed former Telangana State Intelligence Bureau (SIB) chief T Prabhakar Rao to surrender before the Jubilee Hills Police Station by 11 am on December 12 for custodial interrogation.

The order, passed by a bench of Justices BV Nagarathna and R Mahadevan, comes amid allegations that Rao orchestrated widespread surveillance on politicians, judges, and others to benefit the previous Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) government.

Investigators accuse Rao, the prime suspect in the case registered by Hyderabad police, of tampering with evidence by formatting devices and destroying hard drives from the SIB office.

Despite earlier court directives to reset iCloud passwords in the presence of forensic experts, the state claims no crucial data has been recovered, with Apple confirming suspicious activity in one account just before Rao’s court appearances. Rao’s counsel argued compliance, citing six prior sittings with the Special Investigation Team (SIT) and production of email IDs. Still, the bench stressed the need for custody to unlock the probe.

The controversy traces back to the BRS regime, where SIB resources allegedly tracked over 1,200 targets, building illegal profiles to serve political ends. Rao, a retired top cop, had secured interim protection from arrest until the Telangana High Court dismissed his anticipatory bail plea.

A proclamation order earlier threatened to label him a proclaimed offender if he evaded court by June 20. During Thursday’s hearing, the court rejected house arrest suggestions, emphasising lawful interrogation without physical harm due to Rao’s age. The SIT, led by ACP P Venkatagiri, will oversee custody, allowing medication and home food. This surrender deadline marks a critical juncture, potentially exposing the full extent of the surveillance conspiracy that rocked Telangana’s law enforcement.