SIT questions former minister Harish Rao in phone-tapping case

THe Special investigating team up ( sit around) of the Hyderabad police force probing the allegations of phone-tapping during the previous Bharat Rashtra Samiti (BRS) regime on tues grilled senior BRS leader and former minister T Harish Rao for nearly seven hours, people familiar with the matter said.Harish Rao, who was served notices on Monday asking him to appear for questioning in the case, came to Jubilee Hills police station at around 11 am. He was grilled by SIT authorities, including assistant commissioner of police P Venkatagiri and superintendent of police M Ravinder Reddy.Tight security arrangements were put in place in and around the Jubilee Hills Police Station throughout the proceedings to prevent any law-and-order issues. Police did not permit Harish Rao’s legal counsel to accompany him inside the station.A tense situation prevailed at the police station, as a large number of BRS leaders and cadre gathered there in the afternoon, raising slogans against the Congress government and chief minister A Revanth Reddy for targeting Harish Rao. They tried to barge into the police station, but they were pushed back by the police.“After intense questioning, the SIT authorities let off Harish Rao at around 6.30 pm,” a police officer said, on condition of anonymity.The officer added that the investigators questioned Harish Rao based on statements given by other accused in the case, including television channel owner N Shravan Rao and former special intelligence bureau chief T Prabhakar Rao.The SIT has gathered evidence that Harish Rao played a key role in overseeing the phone tapping operations during the previous BRS government, said the official. “During the 2003 assembly elections, snooping was done on as many as 600 political rivals of the BRS,” he added.The case has been under investigation for nearly two years. In March 2024, a case was registered at the Panjagutta Police Station, alleging that during the BRS regime, phones belonging to political leaders, businessmen, and even members of the judiciary were illegally tapped. It was further alleged that evidence related to the surveillance was subsequently destroyed.Reacting to the questioning by the SIT, Harish Rao asserted that he would not get intimidated by what he described as “hollow threats” from the Congress government. “The SIT probe is nothing but a diversionary tactic aimed at deflecting attention from corruption allegations he had raised against the chief minister and his associates,” he said.Maintaining that he had committed no wrongdoing, Harish Rao said he had nothing to fear and fully cooperated with the investigation. He also pointed out that the Supreme Court had dismissed a Special Leave Petition related to the phone tapping case.Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee (TPCC) president Mahesh Kumar Goud said that no individual involved in the phone tapping case would be spared, irrespective of their political position.“Phones of several people were illegally intercepted in blatant violation of the Telegraph Act. My phone, too, along with those of several others—including Shabbir Ali—had been subjected to surveillance,” he said.Goud clarified that the Revanth Reddy government had no intention of pursuing political vendetta against opposition leaders. “The legal process will take its course and that accountability is essential,” he said.