Hyderabad: Union minister of state for home affairs Bandi Sanjay Kumar on Friday, August 8 appeared before the special investigations team (SIT) probing the phone tapping case involving the previous Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) government and ex-chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao (KCR).
He sought an inquiry by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) into the phone tapping case. According to reports he alleged that the BRS and Congress worked hand in glove in the phone tapping issue.
Bandi Sanjay alleged that he and his family members along with his staff were also targeted and their phones were tapped in the buildup to the Telangana Assembly elections in 2023. Ahead of his visit to the SIT, Kumar addressed the media and said, “The SIT had issued a notice to me asking me to appear before it last week, Today I will submit all the information that I have regarding the phone taping case.”
He said that he doesn’t trust the SIT or the Congress government. “This is all for time pass, I demand a CBI probe into the matter.”
The phone tapping case so far
The Supreme Court on Tuesday, August 5, deferred hearing the bail plea of former Telangana Special Investigation Bureau (SIB) chief Prabhakar Rao in the phone tapping case to August 25.
The interim relief granted to Rao will continue till the next hearing. The Telangana government also sought time to submit a status report.
In July, the Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing the phone tapping case sought approval of the apex court to arrest Rao. But the top court stayed his arrest till August 5.
The phone tapping case emerged last year soon after the Congress was voted to power in the 2023 Assembly elections.
It is alleged that a special operations team (SOT) led by former deputy superintendent of police (DSP) D Praneeth Rao, was involved in tapping the phones of around 1,200 individuals, including political leaders in the opposition, bureaucrats, journalists, activists, judges, and business figures, especially around the Assembly elections. It was carried out during the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) tenure under the chief ministrership of K Chandrashekar Rao (KCR).
On March 13, D Praneeth Rao was arrested and ten days later, three more officers, including former deputy commissioner of police (DCP), P Radhakishan Rao, Bhujanga Rao and Tirupathanna were also apprehended.
