The previous Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) government, led by K Chandrasekhar Rao, did not spare even high court judges and advocates in tapping their telephones through the Special Intelligence Branch (SIB) of the state police.
This was confessed by former additional superintendent of police N Bhujanga Rao in a statement given to the Punjagutta police during interrogation in April.
The statement came to light on Tuesday, a day after the confession statement of former deputy commissioner of police (DCP) P Radha Kishan Rao, who worked in SIB, was revealed.
Radha Kishan Rao admitted that the SIB had been used to tap the phones of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders and trap them in the BRS MLAs’ poaching case.
This was allegedly done to bargain with the BJP national leadership to bail out KCR's daughter, Kalvakuntla Kavitha, from the Delhi liquor scam case.
Bhujanga Rao admitted in his statement that the Special Operations Team (SOT) within the SIB snooped on political leaders of opposition parties, their family members, associates, supporters, business persons, and critics of the BRS party.
The SOT also monitored the movements and kept surveillance on student leaders, journalists, and leaders of various caste organizations who were critical of the KCR government.
“Even high court judges, like Justice Sarath Kaja, and advocates handling important cases of government and party leaders, were under the surveillance of the SOT to find out more details about their personal lives and activities so they could be influenced or countered at appropriate times,” Bhujanga Rao admitted.
He said the SIB had also tracked the phones of opposition party leaders, their family members, and even the movement of their vehicles.
He admitted to helping BRS leaders settle civil disputes, as well as disputes involving various companies and business people.
Bhujanga Rao also confessed that the SOT, headed by Praneeth Rao, had tapped the phones of BJP leader K Venkat Ramana Reddy, who contested the assembly elections from Kamareddy in November, and those of present chief minister A Revanth Reddy’s brother Kondal Reddy during the election campaign.
