Hyderabad: The Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing the telephone-tapping case on Friday questioned Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) working president and former Telangana minister K. T. Rama Rao for over seven hours.
Rama Rao returned to BRS headquarters, Telangana Bhavan, after he was examined by SIT officials at Jubilee Hills Police Station.
Hyderabad Police Commissioner V. C. Sajjanar, who is supervising the SIT, said that Rama Rao was examined in detail.
“Relevant aspects of the case were elicited and are being analysed with the evidence on record. He was instructed not to contact or influence any witnesses and informed that he may be summoned again, if required,” Sajjanar said in a statement.
He clarified that Friday’s examination of Rama Rao was conducted solely in connection with a case registered in 2024 relating to allegations of widespread unauthorised and illegal phone surveillance and interception involving thousands of citizens from all walks of life, including politicians, businesspersons, journalists, judiciary and eminent personalities.
“It has been noticed that misleading and baseless information is being circulated by certain sections of the media and individuals, claiming that phone interception was done on security grounds and that no illegality was involved. The Investigating Agency is not concerned with such false narratives. The investigation is being conducted strictly in accordance with the law, fairly and professionally,” the Police Commissioner added.
Meanwhile, addressing BRS leaders and cadres after returning to Telangana Bhavan, Rama Rao described the entire proceeding as a “calculated diversionary tactic.”
KTR asserted that the Congress-led government is utilising investigative agencies to create “entertainment” for the public, aiming to distract them from the state’s mounting administrative failures and unfulfilled electoral promises.
The BRS leader stated that he fully cooperated with the investigation, answering every query posed by officials over the seven-and-a-half-hour session. However, he dismissed the substance of the enquiry, describing it as a repetitive exercise where officials spent hours reading out hundreds of names without presenting any concrete evidence.
He claimed that despite the lengthy questioning, the SIT failed to provide answers regarding who is responsible for the persistent “leaks” to the media that have targeted the character and personal lives of BRS leaders and their families over the past two years.
KTR challenged the investigative agencies to address the reality of surveillance under the present regime. He claimed that the culture of phone tapping has not only continued but has extended into the government’s own ranks, citing reports of a sitting minister informing journalists that he could not speak freely due to surveillance.
The BRS leader questioned why the government remains silent on these allegations while simultaneously using the SIT to peddle “fictional stories” intended to tarnish the opposition’s reputation.
IANS
