KTR grilled for 7 hours in phone tapping case

Former Telangana minister and BRS working president KT Rama Rao was interrogated by the Special Investigation Team (SIT) in connection with the phone tapping case for nearly seven hours. He had been asked to appear before the SIT after being served with notice under Section 160 of the CrPC.

Recently, another former minister and BRS leader, T Harish Rao, was grilled by the SIT for seven hours. The BRS working president had dismissed the case as an endless drama aimed at distracting the people from the misgovernance of the Congress government. Congress MLC Balmoor Venkat Friday filed a complaint with Telangana police against BRS leaders KT Rama Rao and T Harish Rao, accusing them of intimidating officers investigating them.

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After the interrogation, the BRS working president said he had fully cooperated with the SIT investigation. He claimed that he asked the officials about the rumour mongering that phones of heroines were tapped and they denied it. He slammed the Congress government, saying it was giving “fabricated” stories through media leaks because the Opposition party was exposing their corruption. “Their government is a disaster. The revenue is slipping,” said KT Rama Rao.

According to investigators, KT Rama Rao was one of the few whose phone was not under surveillance by the Special Investigation Bureau (SIB) in the BRS regime. It is alleged that the SIB had tapped the phones of several people, including political opponents, under the guise of surveillance against Naxalism.

The notice had stated “… during the course of investigation, it has come to the notice of the investigating officer that you are acquainted with the facts and circumstances of the said case and your personal examination is necessary for the purpose of investigation.” The BRS working president walked out of the Jubilee Hills police station, just a few minutes before 7 pm and was warmly welcomed by the supporters.

Meanwhile, with a large number of BRS supporters gathering at Jubilee Hills to show solidarity with its leader, there was a huge police deployment since morning. The Opposition party’s supporters protesting against the interrogation near Jubilee Hills police station were later forcibly removed by the police personnel.

The BRS leader has been previously summoned several times by the Anti-Corruption Bureau in connection with the Formula E case, where he is accused of irregularly transferring funds to the organisers. He has denied the accusations and said there were attempts at character assassination against him. He alleged that even his family and children were being subjected to mental trauma. He questioned who was resorting to media leaks against him. “Isn’t the present government tapping my phone?” he asked.