The Special Investigation Team which investigates the phone-tapping allegations has issued a summons to K Chandrasekhar Rao who currently serves as the president of Bharat Rashtra Samithi and formerly held the position of chief minister of Telangana. He has been asked to appear for questioning at 3 pm on January 30.
Rao received a notice from investigators which used Criminal Procedure Code Section 160 to give him the right to pick his questioning location because of his advanced age. The SIT informed him that, being above 65 years, he is not required to compulsorally appear at a police station and may choose any place within Hyderabad, which includes the Jubilee Hills police station.
The investigation has found that Rao possesses knowledge about relevant case details which requires his interrogation to advance the investigation.
The summons follows days of political speculation and directly brings the former chief minister into one of Telangana’s most delicate investigations. The SIT has interviewed multiple senior BRS officials during the past ten days, which included K T Rama Rao who serves as party working president and T Harish Rao who represents Siddipet and J Santhosh Kumar who served in the Rajya Sabha.
The case dates back to March 2024 which occurred after the Congress party assumed control of Telangana. The Additional Superintendent of Police Administration at the Special Intelligence Bureau filed a complaint which led to Hyderabad police establishing a criminal case against the previous BRS administration for conducting extensive unlawful phone surveillance activities.
The complaint alleged that former SIB DSP D Praneeth Rao destroyed hard disks and sensitive electronic equipment after the BRS lost the December 2023 Assembly elections.
Following the probe, six individuals were named as accused, including former SIB chief T Prabhakar Rao, D Praneeth Rao, intelligence wing Additional SPs N Bhujanga Rao and M Thirupathanna, former task force DCP P Radhakishan Rao, and A Sravan Kumar Rao, a senior executive of a vernacular television channel.
The authorities charged them with unlawfully monitoring the telephones of politicians and business leaders and other individuals who opposed the BRS government. The police have not yet apprehended Prabhakar Rao and Sravan Kumar Rao but they have detained all other suspects who later received bail.
The police allegedly conducted illegal surveillance operations against current Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy and his family members plus senior BJP leader Eatala Rajender and Union Minister Bandi Sanjay and Medak MP M Raghunandan Rao and various other political figures.
A nine-member SIT team investigated the case because the Telangana government wanted to expedite the investigation process. The team operated under the leadership of V C Sajjanar who served as Hyderabad Police Commissioner during the last week of December 2025.
