The four-page document went viral on social media platforms. It appeared that it had been opened on a phone and then someone took photos.
The Telangana phone-tapping scandal saw a fresh twist on Monday, 1 April, when a document apparently from the case was leaked on social media platforms.
The four-page document went viral on platforms like WhatsApp and X (formerly Twitter). It appeared that the document had been opened on the phone and then someone had taken photos of it.
It apparently showed how officers of the Special Intelligence Bureau (SIB) tapped the phones of their targets and how they communicated among themselves.
A source informed South First that the document could have come from one of two sources.
For one, it could have been allegedly shared by members of the investigation team of the case, said the source, adding that alternately, the details could have been submitted to the court and then shared from there
The document purportedly showed that the accused police officers communicated through encrypted social media apps such as WhatsApp, Singal, and Snapchat.
It was also said to have details of how the officers followed the directions of the SIB’s former deputy inspector general (DIG) of Police T Prabhakar Rao.
It allegedly showed the officers, at Prabhakar Rao’s direction, ensured the victory of BRS candidates and targeted leaders of Opposition parties — including those from BJP.
The document also purportedly claimed that the officers assisted in the transport of money to help BRS.
According to the document, retired DCP P Radha Kishan Rao — one of the accused in the case — confessed that after BRS — then TRS — formed government in 2014, Prabhakar Rao was appointed DIG in 2016 to satisfy caste equations.
Radha Kishan Rao is also said to have told the authorities that Prabhakar Rao interacted with trusted subordinates of his community — who were all acquainted with him from earlier postings — and that they were called to various wings of the Intelligence Department.
Among them were handpicked police officers like Praneeth Rao from Nalgonda, Bhujanga Rao from Rachakonda, Venugopal Rao from Cyberabad, and Thirupathanna from the Hyderabad City Police.
Then, P Radha Kishan Rao was given the DCP Task Force in 2017 by BRS chief K Chandrashekar Rao, allegedly to maintain a hold on Hyderabad city for political and other reasons.
The officers Prabhakar Rao, Bhujanga Rao, Venugopal Rao, and Praneeth Kumar are said to have met regularly and discussed the strengthening of the ruling party and to see that the BRS regime continued to rule the state.
They allegedly decided to communicate with each other on encrypted social media apps such as WhatsApp, Singal, and Snapchat.
The document also stated that an SIB team was formed with the exclusive purpose of surveillance over targeted political leaders and their associates in other political parties, as well as rebels and dissidents within BRS.
It also was to keep an eye on Opposition political leaders’ family members, associates’ supporters, businesspersons, critics of the BRS party, and suspicious activities of persons within in BRS.
The document also states that on the directions of Prabhakar Rao, Praneeth Kumar shared inputs to Radha Kishan Rao during the December 2018 Telangana Assembly elections, based on which they seized ₹70 lakh at Paradise under the Ramgopalpet Police Station limits.
The money apparently belonged to Anand Prasad of Bhavya Cement Co, who was the TDP candidate from the Serilingampally Assembly constituency.
During the by-election to the Dubbak Assembly Constituency in 2020, Praneeth Kumar allegedly shared technical surveillance and identified the target on the field, going on to seize cash worth ₹1 crore at Begumpet.
The money was said to have belonged to a chit fund company in Siddipet, whose key figures were relatives and associates of BJP candidate Raghunandan Rao.
During the Munugode by-election in the second week of October 2022, inputs shared by Praneeth Kumar under the directions of Prabhakar Rao led to the interception of Gunta Sai Kumar Reddy, Kunde Mahesh, D Sandeep Kumar, M Mahender, A Anush Reddy, and Vennam Bharath.
They were associates of the then BJP candidate Komatireddy Raja Gopal Reddy, and the officers seized ₹3.50 crore cash from them before handing them over to the Gandhinagar police.
When South First approached the Director General of Police (DGP) Ravi Gupta and Banjara Hills DCP SM Vijay Kumar, they simply said the case was under investigation and that they were answerable in court, and not to the media.
(Edited by Arkadev Ghoshal)
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