Hyderabad, Aug 8: Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Bandi Sanjay Kumar has demanded that the alleged large-scale phone tapping in Telangana under the previous BRS regime be handed over to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), and urged the Enforcement Directorate (ED) to investigate the money trail linked to the scandal.
On August 8, speaking to reporters after appearing before the Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing the case, Sanjay accused former Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao of running “a political spying racket” through the Special Intelligence Bureau (SIB).
“The KCR government forgot all decency and tapped phones. Along with mine, they tapped the phones of my staff, my family, and even people I work with. The shocking part is they even tapped the phones of KCR’s own daughter Kavitha and son-in-law Harish Rao. I don’t even know what to call such vile people,” he said.
He alleged that SIB officers T. Prabhakar Rao, Praneeth Rao, and Radhakishan Rao misused their positions for political and financial gain.
“It is disgusting to even think about what such useless and crooked people have done. Even the death penalty would not be enough, they should be punished in a way that they rot and cry every moment remembering their sins,” Sanjay said.
On the alleged financial links, he added, “They didn’t just tap politicians’ phones they tapped businessmen’s phones and extorted thousands of crores. During the last elections, Rs 7 crore was seized from a Khammam Congress MP candidate. Hundreds of crores were seized from other Congress leaders. Nobody knows what happened to that money. If Rs 20 crore was seized, Rs 18 crore would be pocketed and only Rs 2 crore shown in records.”
Sanjay said the SIT had revealed to him how police knew about his party programmes in advance due to phone tapping. “That is why in KCR’s rule, everyone spoke only on WhatsApp calls. Even beggars wouldn’t use normal calls, that’s how bad it was,” he remarked.
During BRS regime, My phone was most tapped by KCR. Every second surveillance was kept. In the name of Maoists, not only my phone, the then PCC Chief Revanth Reddy, Harish Rao and even KCR’s own daughter Kavitha’s phones were also tapped. pic.twitter.com/pLcyrdTC70
— Bandi Sanjay Kumar (@bandisanjay_bjp) August 8, 2025
He stressed that the CBI should probe the political conspiracy while the ED should track the money trail to recover the “looted crores.”
“If the state government sends a letter to the Centre, we are ready to order a CBI investigation immediately,” he declared.
Background of the Case
The Telangana phone tapping scandal surfaced after a “top-secret” telecom letter in December 2023, revealed that hundreds of phone numbers were placed under surveillance in the run-up to the state Assembly elections. None of these numbers were linked to Naxal activities, which is the Special Intelligence Bureau’s (SIB) official mandate.
The alleged targets included politicians across party lines, senior bureaucrats, businessmen, a sitting High Court judge, journalists, and even ruling party leaders. Investigators have claimed that some hard drives containing political profiling data were destroyed after the elections an act described as deliberate evidence tampering.
The alleged targets included politicians across party lines, senior bureaucrats, businessmen, a sitting High Court judge, journalists, and even ruling party leaders. Investigators have claimed that some hard drives containing political profiling data were destroyed after the elections — an act described as deliberate evidence tampering.
The case gained momentum in March 2024 when an Additional SP from the SIB filed a formal complaint. The state government formed a Special Investigation Team (SIT), which registered criminal cases against former SIB chief T. Prabhakar Rao, DSP Praneeth Rao, and others. The SIT has been examining digital forensics, financial links, and alleged political instructions behind the operation.
The case gained momentum in March 2024 when an Additional SP from the SIB filed a formal complaint. The state government formed a Special Investigation Team (SIT), which registered criminal cases against former SIB chief T. Prabhakar Rao, DSP Praneeth Rao, and others. The SIT has been examining digital forensics, financial links, and alleged political instructions behind the operation.
