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Former Deputy Commissioner of Police (Task Force, Hyderabad City) P Radhakishan Rao has reportedly confessed to his involvement in phone tapping when K Chandrasekhar's Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) government was in power.
Rao reportedly admitted to conducting surveillance on politicians and others under the directions of the then Telangana Special Intelligence Bureau (SIB) chief T Prabhakar Rao. Devices belonging to media "industry bigwigs, retired cops, and politicians [including from then-ruling BRS] were hacked and monitored". This allegedly happened before the November state election “to keep tabs on then Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao's political rivals".
Rao reportedly informed investigators that anyone who voiced criticism of the BRS government or who was seen as a potential threat to the party was subjected to heavy electronic monitoring. Former SIB deputy Superintendent of Police D Praneeth Rao was provided with "information about political leaders – both within BRS and in the opposition – who needed to be put under surveillance".
He [Praneeth Rao] would allegedly profile them and lead an extensive operation to tap their phones so they can be kept under watch at all times". After finding that many individuals had switched to using encrypted platforms like WhatsApp or Snapchat for communication, the then SIB chief Prabhakar Rao allegedly directed the team to track calls using Internet Protocol Data Records.
Those under surveillance included former IPS officer RS Praveen Kumar, former BRS leader and MLA Kadiam Srihari, former BRS minister T Rajaiah; former Tandur MLA Patnam Mahender Reddy, Congress leader K Jana Reddy and his two sons, and several district-level Congress leaders were also under put surveillance. Even "the movements of several industrialists, builders, businessmen, journalists and bureaucrats were also kept under watch, mainly to track who they were talking to or meeting."
Businesspersons in the real estate and construction industries were also tracked to establish their affiliations. Rao had confessed to his involvement in the commission of the reported crimes of conspiracy to put surveillance over such private persons without authorization.
He had also confessed to "carry out certain actions in a politically biased manner, to exploit official resources to transport money illegally when the election Model Code of Conduct is in force, to destroy evidence of their illegal activities by damaging public property and causing disappearance of evidence in collusion with other accused persons."