Union Minister Bandi Sanjay Kumar, who appeared as a witness before the SIT in the illegal phone tapping case in Telangana, on Friday called for the investigation to be transferred to the CBI. Sanjay Kumar told reporters that he was "shocked" by the details presented by the SIT officials. The Union Minister of State for Home hit out at former Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao on the allegations of phone-tapping, claiming that his phone was tapped by following the procedure used for surveillance of Maoist activities. He also alleged that thousands of phones belonging to political leaders, businessmen, advocates, film personalities and even a High Court judge were tapped during the previous BRS rule. The phones of incumbent Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy (who was state Congress president when BRS was in power) and even KCR's nephew and BRS leader T Harish Rao and KCR's daughter K Kavitha were targeted.
According to Sanjay Kumar, his phone calls were the most frequently tapped when he was the president of the BJP in Telangana during the BRS regime. The officials involved in the illegal phone tapping also monitored the business transactions of businessmen and "blackmailed" them at the behest of ruling party leaders. "Hundreds of crores of rupees were seized from many Congress leaders. What happened to that money? Whose hands it has gone into? (It has) gone into KCR, KCR's son's..." he said. Sanjay Kumar expressed doubts over whether the Congress government led by Revanth Reddy would pursue the case to its legal conclusion. He questioned SIT's authority to question CM Revanth Reddy and a judge whose phones were also allegedly tapped and reiterated his demand for the case to be handed over to the CBI. Alleging a tacit understanding between the ruling Congress and BRS to weaken the investigation into the allegations against the previous BRS government on various issues, he said the BRS is "handing over bags to Congress leaders in Delhi". "Just as the Kaleshwaram (project) became an ATM for the KCR family, their corruption, through the Commissions of inquiry, became an ATM for Congress party's Delhi leadership," he said.
CM Revanth Reddy has indicated that no action would be taken against KCR, Sanjay Kumar claimed. "It has been one year (since probe began). Whether any member of KCR family or any political leader has been arrested? That's why, we are demanding a CBI probe," he said. Kumar said he has submitted the information and evidence available with him in connection with the phone-tapping case, to the SIT officials. Asked why the Centre cannot order an investigation by CBI, he said the BRS government had issued a Government Order (GO) that CBI would not be allowed into Telangana (which is still in force). Sanjay Kumar further said CM Revanth Reddy should also issue a statement to the SIT officials (since his phone was also tapped).
Earlier, he offered prayers at a Hanuman temple at Khairatabad here and reached the Dilkusha government guesthouse by foot to appear before the SIT officials. Kumar had earlier asked the SIT officials to record his statement on July 28, but he could not do so in view of Parliament session. Accusing former Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao of being behind phone-tapping, Kumar had earlier said he would cooperate with the investigators.
Meanwhile, BRS Working President K T Rama Rao strongly condemned Sanjay Kumar's "baseless, irresponsible, and degrading" allegations. Rama Rao, in a statement, challenged Kumar to prove "even one percent of his allegations" with evidence. Demanding a public apology, the BRS leader said a legal notice was being served. If Sanjay Kumar failed to apologise within 48 hours, he would drag him to court, Rama Rao said. Responding on X to Rama Rao's threat of legal notice, the Union Minister said he won't fall for such "monkey tricks" and dared the former to "bring it on". Authorities earlier questioned former Special Intelligence Bureau (SIB) chief of Telangana, T Prabhakar Rao, who is the prime accused in this case. Prabhakar Rao has been accused of forming a "Special Operations Team" under a now-suspended DSP within the SIB for carrying out certain specific tasks related to political surveillance to benefit the then-ruling political party and its leaders. The suspended DSP of the SIB was among the four police officials arrested by the Hyderabad police in March 2024 for allegedly erasing intelligence information from various electronic gadgets, as well as for phone-tapping during the BRS regime. They were subsequently granted bail.