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After Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) working president KT Rama Rao (KTR) said that forensic material linked to the 2015 cash for vote scam was destroyed, Telangana Forensic Science Laboratory (TGFSL) chief Shikha Goel on Sunday, February 8 refuted the claims. She remarked that none of the material objects connected to the case were present in the FSL premises and were instead in the court’s custody.
Shikha Goel was addressing the media a day after a fire broke out at the TGFSL building. The fire affected the first floor of the building, damaging the computer forensics laboratory, property room, case verification chamber, analysis chamber and server room. The Human Remains Detection (HRD) hall and other rooms on the first floor, along with furniture, equipment and other materials, were also damaged.
Following the fire, both members of the ruling Congress and opposition BRS alleged respectively that forensic evidence related to the phone tapping case of 2023 and cash-for-vote case of 2015 were deliberately destroyed in the fire.
The phone tapping case is alleged to have taken place under the previous BRS regime where phones of political opponents, journalists, and judges were illegally monitored and surveilled via a Special Intelligence Bureau (SIB) unit.
The 2015 cash for vote case involved then Telugu Desam Party (TDP) leader and incumbent CM Revanth Reddy caught on video attempting to bribe nominated MLA Elvis Stephenson with Rs 50 lakhs for a Legislative Council vote. The incident led to Revanth Reddy’s arrest.
Referring to the phone-tapping case, Shikha Goel said the FSL had received 136 material objects between March 2024 and January 2026 in connection with the case. “Of these, all but seven items had already been examined and reports submitted to the forwarding authority. The remaining seven items were also under examination, with reports currently being prepared,” she said, adding that several items had already been returned to the concerned authority.
Yadadri Bhuvanagiri MP Chamala Kiran Kumar Reddy said the crucial evidence related to phone tapping, including tapes and case details were stored in the FSL building and accused KTR of orchestrating the accident. On BRS’ end, KTR asked whether the Revanth Reddy government was attempting to erase evidence against the Chief Minister in the 2015 cash-for-votes case.