Snoopgate: Arrested cop makes big claim against BRS

Hyderabad: Sensational revelations in the ongoing probe into the alleged phone tapping by Special Intelligence Bureau (SIB) of Telangana police under the previous government had taken a curious political turn and is likely to snowball into major controversy ahead of the Lok Sabha polls.

The fourth accused in the case, former Task Force OSD, P Radha Kishan Rao, confessed that an exclusive team was formed by the then IG T Prabhakar Rao who was the chief of SIB to conduct surveillance on political leaders, opposition leaders, dissidents in BRS to help ensure hattrick of wins for the BRS in the 2023 polls.

Radha Kishan Rao said the special operations group was led by the now-suspended DSP Dugyala Praneeth Rao.

It was based on the inputs provided by the lead of this surveillance team, Dugyala Praneeth Rao, that police had seized large amounts of money from the opponents during the Dubbak and Munugode bypolls.

Radha Kishan Rao is also said to have confessed to having transported money for BRS during last year's assembly polls.

The Special Operations Group (SOG) of the SIB had created profiles of private individuals, politicians and also others. BC welfare minister, in Revanth Reddy’s cabinet, Konda Surekha, had even alleged that under the instructions from the then IT minister K T Rama Rao, the SOG had also tapped a few Tollywood celebrities. KTR had threatened to sue the Congress minister.

The probe also suggests that the SIB team had threatened a few realtors and businessmen and extorted money.

The SOG was also accused of copying the intelligence data on personal hard drives and then destroying official data of the SIB.

Until now SIT has arrested Praneeth Rao, N Bhujanga Rao, K Thirupathanna and P Radha Kishan Rao all four cops in connection with the phone tapping probe. A Special Investigation Team (SIT) led by west zone DCP S M Vijay Kumar has been probing the phone tapping incidents following a complaint last month by SIB's additional SP, D Ramesh.

It is also learnt that at least two BRS ministers, three MLAs and MLCs are directly involved in the case. Former IG Prabhakar Rao has been named accused number one in the case.