Hyderabad: Shocking revelations which could potentially put senior Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) in serious trouble are coming to light during the investigation into the alleged phone tapping case involving Special Intelligence Branch (SIB), former DSP Praneeth Rao.
The SIB DSP has reportedly admitted in the investigation that he tapped the phones of opposition leaders and celebrities on the orders of his then superiors during the previous BRS government, including that of current Congress Telangana chief minister Revanth Reddy.
Sources said that there is a possibility of interrogating the then high officials of SIB, who were involved in the conspiracy with Praneeth, as well.
TPCC president and chief minister Revanth Reddy was reportedly among the many opposition leaders who were targets of phone tapping during the 2023 Assembly elections. In addition to identifying the movements of Revanth and his close team, Praneeth also allegedly tracked the flow of money of the Congress during last year’s Assembly elections.
Praneeth, who allegedly followed the orders of the then ruling party BRS, sought cooperation of politicians, police and private individuals, said the police. Based on the information and phone numbers received from different people, hundreds of phones were tapped from the SIB headquarters and other war rooms, Praneeth Rao allegedly told the investigation officials.
As part of the investigation into the case of alleged destruction of hard disks and burning of important documents, investigating officers examined WhatsApp chats on Praneeth’s phone and examined the messages received from BRS leaders as well as private individuals. They found that information was shared with BRS leaders.
The police are preparing to take Praneet into custody and interrogate him. A petition was filed in the court seeking seven days of custody.
Meanwhile, it is reported that chief minister Revanth Reddy has inquired from senior police officials about the investigation conducted so far in connection with Praneeth Rao’s. A a comprehensive report was submitted on that front.
It has been learnt that after Revanth Reddy was briefed on the procedures to be followed, he made it clear that action will be taken against those who have acted against the law. The Panjagutta police have reportedly issued notices to the superiors of Praneeth as well, with the focus is on those who worked before the elections.
It was found that in some constituencies, officials under instructions from the previous government reportedly made arrangements in their houses in special rooms (war rooms) and were found to have been involved in tapping. Praneeth, who prepared these as per the orders of the superiors, was apparently assisted by many colleagues.
The police found that two persons working in vigilance in three districts and an SIB officer had set up ‘war rooms’ in their houses and tapped the phones. It is suspected that Praneeth played a key role in the movement of funds of a party during the elections. It is also being investigated from the point of view that own, SIB and Greyhounds vehicles were used to transport money, gold and goods.
Cyber experts are working to collect vital details from Praneet’s phone. He is trying to retrieve the deleted data. It is said that if this comes out, there is a possibility that more people will be arrested. The inspector, who had already worked in the SIB logger room, was interrogated by the police.
The main probe is to find out who encouraged the tapping? What information was collected? Whose played crucial role in? It seems that Praveen gave a clear answer to the questions. To this extent, the Panjagutta police recorded the statement and collected the technical evidence. Police analyzed the phone data and found out how many people were in touch with which numbers.
| 
