Judge accused in cash-for-bail scam found dead, likely suicide

Former judge Dara Prabhakar Rao, who was accused of channelling money to another judge to arrange bail for Karnataka mining baron Gali Janardhan Reddy, was found dead at his residence on Sunday evening.

His body was found when his wife Dr Marilyn Prabhalatha and son David Prashanth, who stay at Kompally in Hyderabad, visited him in East Marredpally, Secunderabad, on Sunday to pick him on their way to church.

When he did not open the door, they broke into the house and found Rao’s body on the floor. His son had last spoken to Rao at about 8.30 pm on Saturday. The funeral was held on Sunday.

Prabhakar Rao, who was out on bail in the cash-for-bail scam, and was fighting his case on his own. Family sources said he was depressed at being implicated in the case. His family says he may have committed suicide or suffered a cardiac arrest.

The police said Rao (62) was working as a judge in Srikakulam till he was suspended by the Andhra Pradesh high court in 2012. He was charged with criminal conspiracy to ensure bail to mining baron Janardhan Reddy.

The judge was arrested by the Anti-corruption Bureau and released on bail. He preferred staying at his East Marredpally residence, while his family stayed in Kompally. His daughter Susan went to the US three months ago for studies.

“He body was found lying on the floor. There are no injuries. While sleeping on the cot in the hall, he might have fallen off,” said Tukaramgate inspector T. Lakshminarayana. Police suspect cardiac arrest to be the cause of the death but post-mortem report is awaited. Based on a complaint from Prabhakar Rao’s wife Dr Prabhalatha, police registered a case of suspicious death.