BRS MLC appears before SIT in phone tapping case

BRS MLC Naveen Rao appeared before the Special Investigation Team (SIT) on Sunday (January 4) for questioning in connection with the alleged phone tapping case linked to the previous regime, sources said.

Mr. Naveen Rao was summoned by the West Zone police of Hyderabad as part of the ongoing probe into allegations of unlawful interception of phone calls during the BRS government.

Officials said he responded to a notice issued by the SIT and presented himself for questioning. He was reportedly questioned for about eight hours at the ACP Jubilee Hills office.

The case relates to allegations that phones of senior political leaders and officials were illegally tapped when the BRS was in power. Former Special Intelligence Bureau chief T. Prabhakar Rao, who is the prime accused in the case, was questioned by the SIT last month.

Since March 2024, Hyderabad police have arrested four police officials in connection with the case, including a suspended Deputy Superintendent of Police of the Special Intelligence Bureau. They were accused of erasing intelligence data from electronic devices and facilitating alleged phone tapping. All of them were later granted bail.

Sources said that there were allegations that Naveen Rao was in contact with Praneeth Rao and Sravan Kumar, both of whom are accused in the case. The MLC has reportedly denied the allegations, stating that they were politically motivated and aimed at damaging his reputation. He has maintained that he never spoke to the accused either in person or over the phone and said he was prepared to prove the claims wrong. Further investigation is underway.