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Hans India
3 days ago
- Politics
- Hans India
BJP MP terms Cong's SIT, KLIP probes as hogwash
Hyderabad: Medak MP Raghunandan Rao has stated that the Congress-led state government is more focused on gaining media attention than on addressing the real issues facing Telangana. Speaking to the media on Friday, he heavily criticised the government for what he termed 'inadequate investigations' into the phone tapping scandal and the Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation Project (KLIP) controversies. He pointed out that the government claims a Special Investigation Team (SIT) has been formed to look into a matter that has been ongoing for 18 months, raising concerns that the probe is merely a way to settle scores between the Congress and the BRS. He criticised the SIT for its 'lack of sincerity' and alleged that the government lacks the determination to arrest those who have committed wrongdoings. Raghunandan Rao revealed that phone tapping began during the by-election in Dubbak in 2020. He claimed he filed ten complaints with the then DGP, asserting that the police were listening to his phone calls, but no action was taken. He now alleges that the SIT is sending notices through social media, targeting individuals working at Gandhi Bhavan, who then provide statements suggesting everyone involved is being investigated. He expressed disbelief that his previous letters of complaint have seemingly not reached the SIT. The MP questioned why, despite officials acknowledging the phone tapping, the prime accused, Prabhakar Rao, has not yet been remanded. He asserted that 'the investigation remains incomplete, and they seem to be stalling under the pretence of an ongoing inquiry.' He asked, 'Are the Congress leaders honest?' and claimed that 'unrelated Congress leaders are being called in' to the probe. Expressing doubts about the outcomes of the probe, he stated that the results might ultimately be described as 'Gadida Guddu' , a Telugu idiom for something worthless. He challenged the SIT's sincerity, claiming they are ignoring his case and focusing on the PCC President instead. He further added, 'I have information about who tapped our phones during the Dubbak by-election and when it happened. I am ready to disclose this, but the SIT lacks the courage to reach out. They are politicising this case as they see fit.' The BJP leader also alleged that the Congress government was not committed to bringing to justice those involved in the KLIP corruption case. He charged that the government has allocated 'Indiramma houses' to party members, citing a recent case where a young man committed suicide after being denied land in the Mallannasagar colony. He questioned if this was proper governance, given the government's lack of response to such a tragic incident. Finally, Raghunandan Rao lashed out at the State government for failing to conduct local body elections while blaming the Centre on BC reservations. He said the BJP-led NDA government does not support religion-based reservations, which he claimed is unconstitutional. He suggested that if the Congress removes the 10 per cent of religious-based reservations from its BC reservations bill, the Centre would consider it for a way forward.
New Indian Express
22-06-2025
- Politics
- New Indian Express
Tapgate accused misled review panel, former Telangana CS Santhi Kumari tells SIT
SIT focus on phones tapped before 2023 polls The SIT had earlier recorded the statements of former Principal Secretary (Home) Ravi Gupta, Director General of Police Dr Jitender, and former Intelligence chief Anil Kumar. According to sources, the accused had claimed that all these officers were members of the 'review committee' and had approved the list of phone numbers submitted for surveillance. Prabhakar Rao, the prime accused in the case, reportedly told the SIT that phones were tapped based on orders from 'higher officials'. The sources stated that the SIT inquiry is focusing on phones tapped up to a fortnight before the 2023 Assembly elections. The SIT is reportedly examining the entire list of tapped phones and trying to identify who gave the orders to surveil around 1,600 phones in the state, including those belonging to politicians, business personalities, film celebrities, IAS and IPS officers, and journalists. Sources from the SIT stated that they are investigating the entire tapping episode using the available data from service providers and the Telecom Department. The sources also said that SIT is going through the call records obtained by Prabhakar Rao, Praneeth Rao and other accused from March 2023 to the end of November 2023. The SIT is also trying to identify why the accused obtained call records data from the service providers and on whose orders this was done. The SIT officers are calling victims to record statements as witnesses by showing the Call Detail Records (CDRs) which were taken by the accused officers under key codes such as CAT 1, CAT 2, CAT 3 and so on. The SIT is also inquiring with the victims whether there was any intimidation, extortion, or other problems created by the accused officers between March 2023 and November 2023. If such activities are reported, the SIT is also accepting complaints from the victims and including these in the CRPC 161 statements. The SIT is likely to record the statement of former DGP M Mahender Reddy. Prabhakar Rao reportedly stated to the investigation officer that his appointment was made by Mahender and that he followed instructions from higher officials. Meanwhile, the SIT is also set to record the statement of Minister of State for Home Affairs Bandi Sanjay at a convenient time, likely Monday or Tuesday, as a witness, as his phone was also allegedly tapped by the accused officers.
New Indian Express
21-06-2025
- Politics
- New Indian Express
Tapgate SIT asks Bandi to appear as witness
HYDERABAD: The Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing the alleged phone-tapping case has summoned Minister of State (Home Affairs) Bandi Sanjay to appear before it as a witness under Section 161 CrPC. SIT sources confirmed that the team asked Sanjay to record his statement regarding the alleged tapping of his phone during the BRS regime. The sources stated that Sanjay told the investigators that he would inform them of the date and time he would appear. Meanwhile, former Special Intelligence Bureau (SIB) chief and prime accused in the case, T Prabhakar Rao, reportedly told investigators that he acted only on the instructions of his senior officers and had no links with any leaders of the previous BRS regime. During questioning on Friday, Prabhakar Rao is believed to have stated: 'I do not have any connections with any key figures in the BRS government and carried out my duties as per the directions of higher officials.' Sources said Prabhakar Rao claimed he was following the orders of a former DGP and denied any association with political parties. He also maintained that no rules drafted by a committee of senior officials were breached. Prabhakar Rao appeared before the Investigating Officer at Jubilee Hills police station for the fifth consecutive day of questioning on Friday. Sources said that he repeatedly responded that he could not remember or was unaware of several matters raised by the IO.
Time of India
19-06-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
Phone tapping probe: Ex-SIB chief Prabhakar Rao keeps mum on naming top officials, Hyderabad cops may seek SC nod for custodial grilling
T Prabhakar Rao, key accused in the phone tapping case, is not cooperating with the investigation. He is refusing to name involved officials and political leaders. Hyderabad police might seek revocation of his arrest protection. HYDERABAD: Former chief of Special Intelligence Bureau, T Prabhakar Rao, the prime accused in the sensational phone tapping case, has so far stonewalled investigators by refusing to name senior IPS officers or political leaders allegedly involved during the previous BRS regime. Though he hinted that certain actions were carried out in coordination with top officials, Prabhakar Rao has remained tight-lipped on specifics, prompting Hyderabad police to consider seeking revocation of his Supreme Court-granted arrest protection. With Prabhakar Rao allegedly not providing leads crucial to cracking the case, police plan to continue questioning him for a few more days. A final decision will soon be taken on approaching the apex court, which had earlier given him interim relief from arrest. Officials are likely to inform the court of his non-cooperation and request permission to proceed with custodial interrogation. So far, he has been interrogated three times. Other than referring to a letter from the then director general of police recommending his reappointment post-retirement-citing his experience in anti-Maoist operations-he has remained evasive, particularly when asked about the core allegations of surveillance. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Поза во сне может многое рассказать о вашем характере! Удивительные Новости Undo He has refused to name the senior officers or political leadership allegedly involved in the phone tapping. Investigators suspect that Prabhakar Rao was instrumental in setting up the now-disbanded special operations team (SOT), headed by then deputy superintendent of police D Praneeth Rao. The unit is believed to have tapped the phones of political opponents, including current chief minister A Revanth Reddy, senior BJP leaders, and dissidents within the BRS to help the ruling party during elections. Meanwhile, after taking the witness statements of different phone tapping victims including Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee (TPCC) president Mahesh Kumar Goud, the investigators are going to take the statements of BJP MPs Eatala Rajender and M Raghunandan Rao, Haryana governor Bandaru Dattatreya, minister Ponguleti Srinivas Reddy and Congress leader Komatireddy Raj Gopal Reddy are among those expected to be questioned. CM Revanth and his family members, whose phones were reportedly under surveillance, may also be asked to depose. "Based on the phone numbers identified, police will reach out to those affected and collect detailed accounts of any harassment or damage-financial, legal, or personal-suffered due to the surveillance," sources familiar with the investigation told TOI. "Their statements will help build a watertight case," a source said.
Hans India
17-06-2025
- Politics
- Hans India
Those involved in phone-tapping should be punished: Telangana Congress President
Hyderabad: Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee (TPCC) President B. Mahesh Kumar Goud on Tuesday demanded that those involved in the phone-tapping under the previous government of Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) should be punished. He said the then ruling party leaders who ordered tapping of phones of their political rivals and the IAS and IPS officers who obeyed the orders should be punished. He was talking to media persons after recording his statement as a witness before the Special Investigation Team (SIT) of the state police probing the phone tapping allegations. Goud said the guilty should be punished stringently so that in future no government should dare to indulge in such illegal and unethical activity. He claimed that the Congress party suffered defeats in Telangana due to illegal phone tapping of its leaders by the BRS government. He alleged that the BRS government tapped the phones of several Congress leaders. He said his and the Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy's phones were also tapped. Goud said that on suspicion that his phone was being tapped, he had lodged a complaint with the police. 'Today, the facts have come out. Phones of senior Congress leaders have been tapped since 2022. We learnt that there are names of 650 Congress leaders in the SIT's list of those whose phones were illegally tapped,' he said. He alleged that the previous government threw the Telegraph Act to the wind to indulge in illegal activity. Goud remarked that BRS leaders KCR and KTR should hang their heads in shame for indulging in this act. The state Congress chief said the SIT investigations are revealing how the BRS misused power to resort to phone tapping. He said the previous government appointed T. Prabhakar Rao as intelligence chief after his retirement. He claimed that such a thing did not happen anywhere in the country. The statement of Goud, who is also a member of the Telangana Legislative Council, is likely to be significant in the ongoing probe. On a request by the Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) of Jubilee Hills, the TPCC President appeared before him. Goud, who served as the working president of the TPCC in November 2023, was allegedly a victim of illegal phone tapping. Meanwhile, former Special Intelligence Bureau (SIB) chief, T Prabhakar Rao, the prime accused in the case, once again appeared before the SIT on Tuesday. Prabhakar Rao had allegedly formed a Special Operations Team under a suspended DSP within the SIB to tap phones of leaders of the opposition parties and some other individuals to benefit the then ruling political party and its leaders. Prabhakar Rao on Tuesday appeared for the fourth time before the SIT since his return from the United States on June 8. Prabhakar Rao has reportedly confessed that a special team was constituted in the SIB to tap the phones of certain individuals. The phones of political leaders, businessmen, celebrities, journalists, members of civil society and even judges were allegedly tapped by the team. The retired Indian Police Service (IPS) officer was grilled based on the statements of former deputy superintendent of police D Praneeth Rao, retired deputy commissioner of police P Radha Kishan Rao and additional superintendents of police N Bhujanga Rao and M. Thirupathanna, who were all arrested in the case last year and were recently released on bail. These officials had earlier told the SIT that they had acted on the instructions of Prabhakar Rao, who was heading the SIB.
