SIT probes illegal surveillance on BRS leaders
HYDERABAD: The Special Investigation Team (SIT) has found that the alleged illegal phone-tapping operation carried out from the Hyderabad Special Intelligence Bureau (SIB) during the previous government was not limited to opposition leaders, but also targeted dissenting leaders within the then ruling Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS).
Officials, who gathered key evidence on this aspect, questioned former SIB chief Prabhakar Rao on the issue during his custodial interrogation, which concluded on Thursday after 14 days. The SIT had earlier examined former deputy superintendent of police Praneer Rao in connection with the same angle.
Surveillance extended to ruling party dissidents
Investigators have established that Prabhakar Rao, along with former Hyderabad Task Force officer P Radha Kishan Rao, played a role in keeping surveillance on certain BRS leaders. Based on the findings so far, the SIT is preparing to issue notices to several key figures from the previous government in the coming days.
Equipment procured from Delhi
The SIT has concluded that the “MLAs poaching” operation centred on a farmhouse at Moinabad came to light through phone-tapping. For this purpose, surveillance equipment was allegedly procured separately from Delhi.
According to the SIT, following the BJP’s victories in the Dubbak and Huzurabad Assembly by-elections, Prabhakar Rao’s team acted on instructions to “check the BJP’s momentum”. Investigators identified a meeting held in the last week of October 2022 between Prabhakar Rao and Radha Kishan Rao, during which the issue of then MLA Pilot Rohith Reddy reportedly came up for discussion.
During questioning, Prabhakar Rao was also examined about illegal tapping linked to BRS leaders. He told SIT officials that proposals were sent for an extension of his service after retirement at the request of then director general of police Mahendar Reddy, and that the then home department principal secretary Ravi Gupta issued orders based on his performance. He maintained that there was no involvement of senior political leaders or the then chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao in the matter.
In this context, the SIT on Thursday recorded statements from chief secretary A Santhi Kumari and former DGP Mahendar Reddy.
Nandakumar’s statement recorded
The SIT also recorded the statement of Nandakumar, an accused in the MLAs poaching case, as a victim in the phone-tapping probe. Speaking to the media, Nandakumar said he suspected that his phone had been tapped and that videos recorded at the farmhouse had been leaked. He alleged that K Chandrasekhar Rao had released the videos to the media.
He said the SIT questioned him in detail about the farmhouse episode and asked how Radha Kishan Rao had harassed him. “I informed the officials fully. I had also complained to the then DGP Ravi Gupta about the tapping of my phone,” Nandakumar said.
