SIT notice a ‘silly drama’

A head of his appearance before the SIT probing phone tapping case, BRS leader T. Harish Rao on Tuesday termed the SIT notice to him as a ‘silly drama’ of Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy. He alleged that since he exposed the corruption of the Chief Minister and his family members, he was summoned by the Special Investigation Team (SIT).

The Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) leader said he was not afraid of notices and cases, as he faced many such cases since the Telangana movement days. Harish Rao was talking to media persons outside his residence at Kokapet along with BRS working president K.T. Rama Rao and several other party leaders.

The former minister alleged that since he exposed the corruption by the Chief Minister and his coterie, he was issued the SIT notice to divert the public attention. He said he was issued notice at 9 p.m., directing him to appear before the SIT at 11 a.m. the next day. He stated that since he respects the law of the land, he would appear before the SIT as directed.

Harish Rao said he was not scared as he had done nothing wrong. He pointed out that both the Telangana High Court and the Supreme Court had quashed phone-tapping cases against him, but a new drama was being played in the name of the SIT.

The former minister said he was issued notices hours after he exposed the scam in coal block tenders of Singareni Collieries and also the corruption allegedly involving the Chief Minister’s brother-in-law. He, however, said this was not new to him as he faced many such cases in the united Andhra Pradesh.

The SIT has issued notice to Harish Rao under section 160 of Cr.P.C. The notice says that the investigation made in the case revealed that he is acquainted with a few facts and circumstances of the case.

The SIT is probing the allegations that under the BRS rule, phone of several individuals, including political opponents, businessmen, journalists, and even judges, were tapped.

The phone tapping case surfaced in March 2024. Former Special Intelligence Bureau (SIB) chief T. Prabhakar Rao is the main accused in the case. Deputy Superintendent of Police D. Praneeth Rao, Additional SPs Thirupathanna and N. Bhujanga Rao, former DCP Radha Kishan Rao, and a television channel owner, Sravan Kumar, are the other accused.

In a separate case relating to phone tapping against Harish Rao, the Supreme Court on January 5 had dismissed the Special Leave Petition (SLP) filed by the state government. The apex court refused to interfere with the earlier orders of the Telangana High Court, which had quashed the FIR registered at the Panjagutta police station, holding that there was no material to establish Harish Rao’s involvement in the alleged phone tapping.

The case originated from a complaint filed in 2024 by Siddipet-based real estate businessman Chakradhar Goud, who alleged that his phone was tapped during the tenure of the previous BRS government at the instance of Harish Rao and former DCP Radha Kishan Rao.