The Telangana Special Investigation Team (SIT), which is probing the alleged phone-tapping operation carried out during the previous Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) government’s tenure, reportedly recorded the statement of former Andhra Pradesh Intelligence chief and retired IPS officer AB Venkateswara Rao.
According to a report by The Times of India, Rao was questioned as a witness a few days ago after investigators found evidence suggesting that he was among several individuals allegedly placed under surveillance by Telangana’s intelligence wing during the BRS regime.
A senior IPS officer, Rao headed the Andhra Pradesh Intelligence Department between July 2015 and March 2019, during the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) government led by N Chandrababu Naidu. He later came under scrutiny and was suspended after the YSR Congress Party came to power in 2019.
As per the report, the SIT sought to ascertain whether Rao had noticed any surveillance on his movements or communications and whether it had affected him professionally or personally. He is reportedly the first senior police officer from a neighbouring state to have been examined by the Telangana SIT in connection with the case.
The alleged phone-tapping scandal centres on accusations that senior officials in the then Telangana Special Intelligence Branch illegally intercepted the phones of politicians, bureaucrats, journalists, businesspersons, and others during the BRS government’s tenure. The investigation gained momentum after the Congress came to power in Telangana in December 2023, with the SIT being tasked in 2024 to probe the alleged misuse of surveillance infrastructure.
Several former police officials have been arrested in the case, while senior BRS leaders, including party president and former Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao, working president KT Rama Rao, and senior MLA T Harish Rao, have been questioned as part of the investigation. The SIT is reportedly in the final stages of its probe and is expected to file a second chargesheet soon.