BRS working president KTR arrives at Telangana Bhawan ahead of SIT phone-tapping probe

Hyderabad (Telangana) [India], January 23 (ANI): BRS working president KT Rama Rao has reached the Telangana Bhawan ahead of the scheduled SIT probe in relation to alleged phone tapping during the previous BRS regime.

Heavy police deployment was made in and around the Jubilee Hills ACP office ahead of his appearance.

He has been summoned at 11 am for his questioning. He will be questioned by the Investigating Officer regarding allegations that intelligence officers tapped phones under the direction of the then top leadership. 

He received a notice from the Special Investigation Team (SIT) a day after senior BRS leader T Harish Rao was summoned.

Rao on Thursday also alleged that the ongoing phone-tapping investigation in Telangana is politically motivated, targeting opposition leaders while diverting attention from governance failures.

Addressing the media in Sircilla, KTR described the SIT probe as a "time-pass exercise", claiming notices were issued selectively to BRS leaders while senior police and intelligence officials were not being questioned.

"If the investigation is genuine, senior officials should be questioned first. Instead, political leaders are being targeted," he said, calling the case baseless.

KTR said intelligence gathering is a routine government function, existing since Jawaharlal Nehru's time and continuing under Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He emphasised that such systems operate within police and intelligence frameworks, not at the discretion of ministers.

He challenged the government to produce a senior official willing to publicly state that opposition phones were not being tapped. KTR alleged that selective leaks were given to the media while official press briefings were avoided, and that the case has dragged on for nearly two years without a formal update.

KTR demanded SIT probes into alleged irregularities in coal contracts, AMRUT projects, and Gachibowli land dealings. He said he had submitted documents in Delhi about contracts awarded to allegedly ineligible firms.

Maintaining that neither he nor other BRS leaders had committed wrongdoing, KTR said the party would cooperate fully with the SIT but would not accept political harassment.

"Surveillance exists solely for national security and public order--not for political targeting," he concluded.

Previously, Former BRS Minister and Siddipet MLA T. Harish Rao underwent nearly eight hours of questioning before the Special Investigation Team (SIT) on Tuesday and levelled similar allegations. 

Before entering the office, Harish Rao told the media that the notice summoning him was politically motivated. He alleged it was issued after the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) exposed alleged irregularities involving Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy and his relatives.

He said the inquiry involved no new questions and consisted only of repeated queries. He alleged that officers frequently stepped out after receiving phone calls during the questioning, raising doubts about external interference. He challenged the government to order an inquiry by a sitting High Court judge if it had nothing to hide, adding that the BRS was ready to submit all evidence.

The Telangana government had constituted a 10-member SIT headed by Hyderabad Police Commissioner V.C. Sajjanar nearly 21 months after the case was registered. The probe concerns allegations that phones were illegally intercepted by the Special Intelligence Branch (SIB). (ANI)