BRS Leader T. Harish Rao Faces Charges in Phone Tapping Scandal
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Hyderabad, Dec 3 (NationPress) The phone tapping investigation in Telangana took an unexpected twist on Tuesday as law enforcement officials lodged a case against former minister T. Harish Rao and several others.
A complaint filed by G. Chakradhar Goud, a real estate entrepreneur, led to the registration of a case at the Panjagutta Police Station in Hyderabad.
The complainant, who is the founder of Farmers First Foundation, accused Rao and his associates of harassment, intimidation, and illegal phone monitoring.
The police have charged the individuals under various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC): Section 120(B) (Criminal conspiracy), 386 (Extortion), 409 (Criminal breach of trust), 506 (Criminal intimidation), as well as Section 66 of the Information Technology Act.
According to Goud's complaint, Harish Rao harbored resentment towards him due to Goud’s philanthropic efforts, which included assisting families of farmers who had died by suicide.
Goud accused Rao of issuing threats, fabricating charges, and conducting unauthorized surveillance on his mobile phone.
As a prominent figure in the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS), Harish Rao is the nephew of the party's president and former Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao.
Goud further claimed that he was wrongfully implicated in multiple fabricated legal cases, including a serious charge of rape. He mentioned receiving threatening messages urging him to cease his charitable and political endeavors.
The allegations of phone tapping under the previous BRS administration surfaced in March of this year following the arrest of Deputy Superintendent of Police Praneeth Rao, triggered by a complaint from his superior, D. Ramesh, Additional SP of the Special Intelligence Branch (SIB).
It was alleged that Prabhakar Rao, the then chief of the SIB, had formed a covert team with trusted associates, including Praneeth Rao, to surveil opposition political figures, their families, dissidents within the ruling party, business people, journalists, and even judges.
To date, police have identified six individuals as accused in this case.
Those currently in judicial custody include Praneeth Rao, Additional SPs Thirupathanna and Bhujanga Rao, along with former DCP P. Radha Kishan Rao.
Prabhakar Rao and Shravan Kumar Rao, a media outlet's managing director, are reportedly in the United States.
Last month, authorities interrogated former MLAs Jaipal Yadav and Chirumarthi Lingaiah in connection with the phone tapping allegations, based on call data from the arrested suspects.
