Andhra cop hacked senior's e-mail CBI sleuth's data on Jagan

Hyderabad, Jun 30: Suspended police officer M Srinivasa Rao allegedly hacked into the e-mail account of his senior officer to acquire the phone call data of a top CBI official regarding the ongoing probe into the disproportionate assets case filed against YSR Congress chief Jagan Mohan Reddy, CID sources said on Saturday.

Rao, who was recently placed under suspension as Nacharam police inspector for his alleged complicity in accessing and leaking the call data records (CDRs) of CBI Joint Director

(Hyderabad Zone) VV Lakshminarayana and a woman activist, was grilled by the state CID on the second consecutive day.

Rao allegedly stole the e-mail account password of a deputy commissioner of police (DCP) under Cyberabad zone with the help of a lower-rank employee and forwarded a request to the service provider for getting the CDRs, police said. Rao misused his official position since only a SP or DCP rank officer is entitled to send request to service providers for the phone call data records of consumers, they said.

The Andhra Pradesh CID on Friday took over the probe into the cases over 'leakage' of phone calls details of Lakshminarayana and activist Vasireddy Chandrabala. While City Police had registered a case in this regard on the complaint of the CBI joint director, Chandrabala approached the Cyberabad police commissionerate.

Rao was suspended by Cyberabad Police Commissioner D Tirumala Rao pending inquiry after a case registered against him and a senior reporter of Telugu news channel, 'Sakshi', on the basis of a complaint lodged by Chandrabala.

Chandrabala on June 26 lodged a complaint stating that the news channel had telecast a programme on June 21 with a view to cause damage to her dignity and reputation by making public the confidential information of the call details of her mobile phone.

Jagan-owned Sakshi TV channel had recently released and telecast details of calls, made and received by Lakshminarayana, while accusing him of "leaking" sensitive information pertaining to the ongoing probe against Jagan to a section of media and his former classmate Chandrabala Vasireddy. The channel had also claimed that there was a "big conspiracy" to harm the Kadapa MP.

PTI