Telangana BJP demands CBI probe into phone tapping

Hyderabad, April 3: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Telangana has demanded a probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) into alleged phone tapping.

BJP MP K. Laxman on Wednesday said Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy should seek a CBI probe into the phone tapping during the rule of the previous government of Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS).

He said if the Chief Minister was sincere, he should take action against the masterminds behind phone tapping.

He voiced concern over the revelations in the phone tapping case with the arrest of police officials allegedly involved. He mentioned that there have been allegations of phone tapping during by-elections to Dubbaka, Munugode and Huzurabad Assembly seats.

Laxman alleged that the Revanth Reddy government was trying to shield the real culprits in the case. He remarked that the approach of Congress and BRS is like a Tom and Jerry fight. The BJP leader said the two parties make allegations against each other at the time of elections to fool people.

The Rajya Sabha member alleged that cash meant for the ruling party in the elections was transported in police vehicles. He also claimed realtors and jewellers were looted by tapping their phones.

Laxman said a delegation of BJP leaders will meet the Governor to demand a thorough investigation by the Centre in the phone tapping.

The BJP MP said that the phones of the leaders of opposition parties were tapped under the BRS rule and then the ruling party tried to politically benefit from it.

The phone tapping issue came to light last month with the arrest of Deputy Superintendent of Police D. Praneeth Rao, who served in the Special Intelligence Branch (SIB). He was suspended for his alleged involvement in phone tapping and for destroying evidence of the same after the Congress party came to power.

The police subsequently arrested three more officials. The latest arrest was that of Radha Kishan Rao, former Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP), Task Force.

Police claimed that a Special Operations Team was allegedly created in the Special Intelligence Branch (SIB) for surveillance of rival political leaders and their families and dissidents within the ruling party.

Police have issued a look-out circular for former SIB chief Prabhakar Rao, on whose orders the SIB officials carried out the phone tapping.