Daijiworld Media Network - Hyderabad
Hyderabad, Jan 29: In a major development in the ongoing phone tapping case in Telangana, the Special Investigation Team (SIT) has summoned Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) President and former chief minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao (KCR) for questioning.
The SIT has directed KCR to appear at 3 pm on Friday, January 30. The notice was served at his residence in Nandinagar, Banjara Hills, on Thursday. Considering KCR’s age, Investigation Officer P. Venkatagiri stated that he may appear voluntarily at the Jubilee Hills Police Station or nominate any other convenient location within Hyderabad for the examination.
Issued under Section 160 of the Criminal Procedure Code, the notice states that KCR is believed to have knowledge of facts and circumstances pertinent to the case, making his examination necessary.
The case involves the alleged illegal tapping of phones of political rivals, journalists, businessmen, and even judges during the previous BRS government. The notice to KCR comes after SIT questioned several top BRS leaders and family members over the past week.
Former MP Joginipally Santosh Rao, a nephew of KCR, was interrogated for over seven hours on Tuesday. KCR’s son and BRS Working president K.T. Rama Rao was questioned for more than seven hours on January 23, while another nephew, former minister T. Harish Rao, was grilled for a similar duration on January 20. Other BRS leaders, including MLC K. Naveen Rao and former MLAs Jaipal Yadav and C. Lingaiah, have also been questioned.
The SIT has also examined several individuals as witnesses and victims, including Union Minister of State for Home Bandi Sanjay, BJP MPs Eatala Rajender and M. Raghunandan Rao, Telangana Congress chief B. Mahesh Kumar Goud, and Kondal Reddy, brother of Chief Minister Revanth Reddy.
The case, which came to light in March 2024, led to an FIR being registered at Panjagutta Police Station under various sections of the Indian Penal Code, Prevention of Damage to Public Property Act, and Information Technology Act. Investigations allege that a special team within the Special Intelligence Bureau (SIB) during the BRS regime was responsible for tapping phones.
Former SIB chief Prabhakar Rao is the main accused, along with DSP D. Praneeth Rao, Additional SPs Thirupathanna and N. Bhujanga Rao, former DCP Radha Kishan Rao, and television channel owner Sravan Kumar.