KCR Questioned By Probe Team At His Hyderabad Home In Phone Tapping Case

Former Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao was on Sunday questioned by the Telangana Police SIT at his residence here in connection with a case related to alleged "phone tapping" during the previous BRS regime.

A team of SIT officials questioned the BRS President for nearly five hours.

A few hours before the questioning, Rao left from his farmhouse at Yerravalli, about 70 km from Hyderabad and reached his Nandi Nagar residence to appear before the SIT for examination.

Elaborate security arrangements were made near Rao's residence with heavy deployment of police personnel and the lane was barricaded.

Rao on Saturday told the SIT that he would appear for questioning at his Nandi Nagar residence on February 1, while accusing the investigating officer of "violating legal procedures" in serving the notice.

BRS cadres held demonstrations across Telangana on Sunday protesting against the "political harassment" done to Rao by Congress government over summoning of their leader.

Reacting to the questioning of Rao, Telangana Deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka on Sunday said the Congress government will not indulge in vindictive actions.

He said providing highly democratic governance is the core objective of "our people's government".

The case pertains to allegations of widespread unauthorised and illegal phone surveillance and interception involving politicians, businessmen, journalists, members of the judiciary, and other prominent individuals during the previous BRS government.

The Special Investigation Team on January 30 declined Rao's request to be questioned at Yerravalli and directed him to appear at his residence on February 1. Rao has been engaged in legal arguments with investigators in recent days over the place and date of his examination in the "phone-tapping" case.

On January 29, Rao requested that his examination be conducted at his farmhouse in Yerravalli.

The SIT had sought to examine him on January 30, but he requested a fresh date due to preoccupations with the upcoming municipal election nominations.

Earlier, KCR's son and BRS Working President K T Rama Rao and his (Rama Rao's) cousins, T Harish Rao and J Santosh Kumar, appeared before the SIT on January 23, January 20, and January 27, respectively, in connection with the case.

Former Telangana intelligence chief T Prabhakar Rao, the prime accused in the case, has already been questioned by the SIT.

A suspended DSP of the Telangana Special Intelligence Bureau (SIB) was among four police officials arrested by Hyderabad Police since March 2024 for allegedly erasing intelligence information from electronic devices and for alleged phone-tapping during the previous BRS regime. They were subsequently granted bail.

A detailed investigation has been going on into the case with the first chargesheet having been filed against certain accused persons, police earlier said. 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)