One of the key accused in the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) MLA poaching case, Nanda Kumar, has alleged that his phone was illegally tapped by investigators from the State Intelligence Bureau (SIB) and the Task Force, which was how his conversations with MLAs were leaked. The allegation follows the recent arrests of several Telangana police officers, who have been accused of illegally collecting intelligence information under the previous BRS government by methods including phone tapping, clandestinely monitoring individuals, and erasing data to destroy evidence. The destroyed hard disks were recovered from the Musi river and sent to the Forensic Science Laboratory.
Nanda Kumar is among the three accused who were arrested from a farmhouse in Moinabad by the Cyberabad police on October 26, 2022, for allegedly attempting to poach four BRS MLAs to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) by offering them hefty amounts of cash. He said he met Director General of Police (DGP) Ravi Gupta on Thursday, March 28, and demanded strict action in the case.
“I had already met the DGP regarding the phone tapping case three months ago, and complained against former DCP (Deputy Commissioner of Police) Radha Kishan Rao and SIB chief T Prabhakar Rao. Now these officials have been identified as the accused in the phone tapping case. How my conversations with the MLAs were leaked is enough evidence that phones were tapped,” he said.
Prabhakar Rao, who is considered close to former BRS Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao, is the prime accused in the phone tapping case and is currently evading arrest. Radha Kishan Rao, who served as chief security officer to KCR and later as the DCP Task Force until the 2023 Assembly elections, was also interrogated by investigators. Three officers — former SIB DSP Praneeth Rao, Additional Superintendent of Police N Bhujanga Rao, and Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police Tirupathanna — have been arrested in the case so far.
Nanda Kumar has also alleged that Task Force officials, under the direction of Radha Kishan Rao, had lodged a number of false cases against him and unlawfully detained him at night. He is an accused in five cases, which includes illegally subletting property, cheating, and other offences.
The poaching case accused, who is the owner of the Deccan Kitchen located at Film Nagar in the upscale Jubilee Hills, further alleged that the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) partially demolished his hotel because he refused to turn approver in the MLA poaching case. The GHMC, however, had alleged that the razed constructions were unauthorised.
Nanda Kumar and two others — Ramachandra Bharati and Simhayaji Swamy — were booked in the MLA poaching case based on a complaint lodged by BRS’ Tandur MLA Pilot Rohith Reddy and other legislators. They were arrested in a raid launched by the Cyberabad police, based on information provided by Pilot Rohit Reddy, who alleged that the accused offered him Rs 100 crore and Rs 50 crore each to three other MLAs for joining the BJP.
Also read: Telangana MLAs poaching case: How cops and TRS laid trap for alleged BJP agents