KCR tried to arm-twist BJP to drop ED case against Kavitha, suggests phone-tapping probe
The phone tapping case allegedly involved gathering not only political intelligence but was also meant to blackmail leaders and movie stars
Investigation into a phone-snooping row in Telangana has revealed that then chief minister K Chandrashekar Rao (KCR) wanted to arrest BJP leader BL Santosh so that the Centre would axe the Enforcement Directorate case against his daughter K Kavitha.
This has been stated by former Deputy Commissioner of Police P Radhakrishna Rao in a six-page confession. Rao was arrested in March after the defeat of KCR in Assembly elections.
The confession
Rao claimed that he was ordered to suppress dissent and protests against the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS, earlier called the Telangana Rashtra Samithi or TRS) and the state government.
According to Rao, KCR would get irritated even on account of minor dissent or criticism. The phone tapping case allegedly involved gathering of electronic data not only for political intelligence but also to blackmail leaders, private companies and Tollywood celebrities.
BRS brass involved
Congress leader N Uttam Kumar Reddy told NDTV all this happened with the knowledge of the BRS leaders and soon BRS leaders would be within the ambit of the investigation.
The individuals whose devices were reportedly monitored include Congress leader and now Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy. One report said as many as one lakh phone calls were reportedly tapped.
Poaching case
It was one such phone tapping that allegedly led to the discovery of a plot to poach BRS lawmakers allegedly by the BJP.
The man who allegedly led the illegal phone tapping was T Prabhakar Rao, who headed the Special Intelligence Branch. Rao, now abroad, has been named ‘Accused No. 1’ in the case.
On KCR’s order, the Special Intelligence Branch put surveillance over the poachers and a BRS MLA, leading to the arrest of three people at a farmhouse on the outskirts of Hyderabad.
SIT probe
A special investigative team or SIT was set up to investigate the poaching claims, and it was then that KCR wanted to arrest the BJP's BL Santosh.
But judicial intervention in November 2022 ensured that Santosh would not be questioned. The High Court also disbanded the SIT.
Radhakrishna Rao also claimed that raids were orchestrated against Sunil Kanugolu, who was credited with the Congress victory in assembly elections in Karnataka last year.