Summon KCR in phone-tapping case, demands MoS Bandi Sanjay

Hyderabad, June 21 (IANS) Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Bandi Sanjay Kumar, who has been called as a witness in the alleged phone-tapping case, on Saturday, asked why the Congress government was not issuing notices to former Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao.

Talking to reporters in Karimnagar, he wanted to know why Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) president and former chief minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao (KCR) and his son and BRS working president K. T. Rama Rao (KTR) have not been summoned on the basis of the statements of the accused.

“Is there an internal understanding between Congress and BRS? Why are they protecting each other?” he asked.

He said former DCP Radhakishan Rao, who is one of the accused in the case, has already stated that they tapped the phones on the direction of higher-ups.

Alleging that the phone-tapping operation was conducted from Hyderabad and Sircilla (the Assembly constituency of KTR), Bandi claimed that he was the first to speak about phone tapping.

Bandi Sanjay also questioned the purpose of KTR’s visit to the United States just before the arrival of the prime accused and former chief of the State Intelligence Bureau (SIB), Prabhakar Rao, in India.

Alleging that the Congress government is trying to shield Prabhakar Rao, Bandi Sanjay demanded that the case be handed over to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).

He asked why the Congress government was giving courtesies to Prabhakar Rao instead of dragging him to court. He said the former IPS official spoiled the lives of many people. He claimed that even the leaders of BRS and their family members were not spared.

Bandi Sanjay alleged that he was arrested in the 10th exam paper leak case on the direction of Prabhakar Rao.

The Minister of State confirmed that he received a call from officials of the Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing the phone-tapping case to record his statement.

He will be the second key leader to appear before SIT as an eyewitness. Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee (TPCC) president Mahesh Kumar Goud had deposed before the SIT three days ago.

Prabhakar Rao appeared before the SIT for the fifth consecutive day of questioning on Friday. The investigating officials questioned him about the large number of phone numbers placed under surveillance when BRS was in power.

He had allegedly constituted a team in SIB to tap the phones of leaders of opposition parties, dissidents within BRS, businesspersons, celebrities, journalists, and even judges.

The phone tapping allegations came to light in March last year, a few months after BRS lost power to the Congress party.

Police last year arrested four police officials in the case. They were later released on bail.

Prabhakar Rao, who was in the US when the case was registered and was allegedly evading arrest, returned to India two weeks ago on the direction of the Supreme Court.

--IANS

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