Hyderabad: Union Minister of State for Home Bandi Sanjay Kumar on Friday demanded that the Telangana government hand over the probe into the alleged illegal phone tapping during the previous BRS regime to the CBI.
Speaking to reporters before meeting the officers of the Special Investigation Team (SIT) to record his statement as a witness in the phone tapping case, he said he does not have “trust” in the probe by the SIT.
Though the officers in the SIT are “good”, the Congress government is not giving freedom to them to conduct the probe freely, he alleged.
Kumar alleged a collusion between the Congress and BRS parties, stating that while the Congress government has established Commissions of Inquiry over various allegations from the BRS era, no substantial actions have been taken. He asserted, “They (Congress and BRS) are playing these dramas together. We don’t have trust in this. That’s why we are demanding a CBI probe.”
The Union Minister claimed that his phone calls were among the most frequently tapped during his tenure as the president of the BJP in Telangana under the BRS government. He alleged that not only his calls but also those of his family members, staff, and BJP associates were subjected to illegal surveillance.
Sanjay Kumar stated that he was the one who initially exposed the illegal phone tapping during the BRS regime and mentioned that he would provide the SIT with a “confidential report” containing relevant information regarding the phone tapping.
After offering prayers at a Hanuman temple in Khairatabad, Kumar walked to the Dilkusha government guesthouse to meet with SIT officials. He had previously requested the SIT to record his statement on July 28, but was unable to do so due to parliamentary commitments.
Kumar has accused former Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao of orchestrating the phone tapping and has expressed his willingness to cooperate with investigators.
Authorities have already questioned T Prabhakar Rao, the former Special Intelligence Bureau (SIB) chief of Telangana, who is a key suspect in this case. Rao is accused of establishing a “Special Operations Team” under a now-suspended Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) within the SIB to conduct political surveillance for the benefit of the then-ruling party and its leaders.
In March 2024, the Hyderabad police arrested the suspended DSP along with three other police officials for allegedly deleting intelligence data from electronic devices and for their involvement in phone tapping during the BRS regime. They have since been granted bail. The accused individuals are alleged to have created unauthorized profiles of various individuals and conducted clandestine monitoring through the SIB.
