Hyderabad, June 27 (IANS) BJP MP Konda Vishweshwar Reddy has demanded that former chief minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao and ex-minister K. T. Rama Rao should be punished for “phone-tapping” during the previous BRS regime.

The MP from Chevella, who testified on Friday before the Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing the phone-tapping case, told media persons that false cases were booked against him and his phone was tapped after he quit Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS).

Reddy alleged that his and his wife, Sangita Reddy’s, phones were tapped several times. Vishweshwar Reddy also revealed that he had to escape to Bengaluru and stay there for two weeks to avoid arrest after a case under non-bailable sections was registered against him.

Reddy, who quit BRS in 2018, said K. Chandrasekhar Rao (KCR) and K. T. Rama Rao (KTR) should be punished to prevent phone-tapping in future.

The Lok Sabha member from Chevella, who recorded his statement before SIT officials, said if necessary, the state government should seek help from the Centre to probe the case.

He alleged that during the by-elections to Munugode and Dubbak Assembly seats, his phone was tapped.

Reddy said that though he brought this to the attention of the then Director General of Police (DGP) Mahender Reddy, he did not take it seriously.

Reddy also stated that he would raise the issue in Parliament.

The MP’s mobile number was found in the CDR list of the Special Intelligence Bureau (SIB), which had placed several leaders of opposition parties, journalists, businessmen and others under surveillance.

Media personality Radhakrishna also appeared before the SIT on Friday to record his statement.

The Managing Director of ‘Andhra Jyothi’ testified before Jubilee Hills ACP P. Venkatigiri.

The SIT on June 17 recorded a statement of Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee (TPCC) President B. Mahesh Kumar Goud.

Meanwhile, BJP MP Raghunandan Rao on Friday slammed SIT for not calling him to testify, though he was the first to complain about phone-tapping.

The Lok Sabha member from Medak claimed that phone-tapping had started during the by-election to the Dubbak Assembly seat in 2020. He was the BJP candidate in the by-election.

Raghunandan Rao said that though he had complained to the DGP several times about the phone-tapping, no action was taken.

The BJP leader remarked that SIT is indulging in ‘time-pass’ in the name of investigation. He asked why the SIT had not arrested former SIB chief T Prabhakar Rao, the prime accused in the case.

Rao said the manner in which investigations are being conducted into phone-tapping and the Kaleshwaram project proves that Congress and BRS are hand-in-glove.

The SIT has questioned Prabhakar Rao several times. He had allegedly formed a Special Operations Team under a suspended DSP within the SIB to tap phones of leaders of the opposition parties and some other individuals to benefit the then-ruling political party and its leaders.

The phones of political leaders, businessmen, celebrities, journalists, members of civil society and even judges were allegedly tapped by the team.

–IANS

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