Former Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao was questioned for over four hours in connection with the alleged illegal phone tapping case Sunday. According to SIT sources, KCR was questioned over his role in sanctioning the tapping.
KCR was questioned about his close relationship with former Special Intelligence Branch (SIB) chief T Prabhakar Rao, who is accused number one in the case. He was also questioned on his relationship with the other five accused in the case, SIT sources said.
The SIT had video-recorded the questioning proceedings. In a press release, the agency said that it “concluded” KCR’s questioning, which sources close to KCR said was “amicable”.
While KCR did not address any media conference after the questioning, his son and former Telangana minister K T Rama Rao called the case “silly, frivolous and bogus”.
“He was asked if illegal tapping took place. He said ‘no’. This questioning was held on the Budget Day to divert attention from the inefficiency of the state government and the BJP in preventing any development projects from coming to Telangana,” he said, adding, “Because we are a party which is responsible, we attended the SIT questioning. Each question which was asked by the SIT was answered by KCR clearly”.
High drama had begun early Sunday as roads from the Erravalli farmhouse in Siddipet to the Nandi Nagar residence in Hyderabad were lined with Bharat Rashtra Samithi supporters shouting ‘Jai Telangana’ as KCR travelled to the city. BRS leaders and workers were mobilised in large numbers to show support as KCR headed to Hyderabad to appear before the Special Investigation Team (SIT) in the alleged phone-tapping case.
There were a few instances of effigy burning along the way, even as several BRS workers claimed they were detained by police while proceeding to the Nandi Nagar residence. KCR’s official residence was surrounded by supporters shouting slogans in his favour.
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Though he arrived in a convoy of private vehicles, Hyderabad Police allowed only his vehicle and security detail to enter the residence premises. Police erected barricades on all four sides of the residence to prevent trespassing and any untoward incidents.
KCR reached the Nandi Nagar residence at 1 pm. His son and BRS working president, KT Rama Rao, was present to receive him along with supporters. His nephews – former minister Harish Rao and former MP J Santhosh Rao – were also present at the Nandi Nagar residence.
During the questioning, KTR posted on X: “KCR is invincible…He is the history of Telangana and you wouldn’t even be a footnote”. As the questioning ended, large swaths of supporters were seen marching to the Nandi Nagar residence holding black flags in protest. KCR, meanwhile, greeted his supporters standing on the first-floor balcony of his house. He was flanked by BRS leaders, including KTR and Sabita Indra Reddy.
Several BRS leaders questioned the prolonged questioning of KCR, stating the questioning of a person of over 65 years of age under section 160 of the CrPC should be limited to less than three hours. SIT sources, however, said that the questioning was within the ambit of the CrPC proviso. KCR left for his farmhouse around 10 pm.
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The questioning, however, ended the tug-of-war between the Telangana Police and KCR over the venue for his questioning. On Thursday, when asked to appear before the SIT, KCR had requested that his statement be recorded at his current residence — a farmhouse in Siddipet district — and on a convenient date.
In response, the SIT said in a notice pasted on the compound wall of KCR’s official residence that he would have to appear at his “residence on record”, his house at Nandi Nagar in Hyderabad. The SIT asked him to appear for questioning at 3 pm on February 1.
It is to this second notice that KCR agreed, though with some reluctance. “I, being a former Chief Minister for the State of Telangana and the present Leader of Opposition in the Legislative Assembly, and also as a responsible citizen of this country, in order to assist the department in the investigation of the subject crime, I would be available for my examination at 3 pm on 01.02.2026 at Nandi Nagar residence as you are keen to record my statement there only,” he wrote.
The case pertains to allegations that the phones of BRS rivals were tapped when the party was in power in the state. Those currently accused include Special Intelligence Branch (SIB) chief and IPS officer T Prabhakar Rao, Deputy Superintendent of Police D Praneeth Rao, Additional Superintendents of Police M Thirupathanna and N Bhujanga Rao, former Superintendent of Police P Radhakishan Rao, and a TV channel owner, A Shravan Kumar Rao.
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SIT sources had earlier claimed they had evidence to show that at least 600 phone numbers tapped by the SIB under Prabhakar Rao were unrelated to Left Wing Extremism. The SIB was set up in 1990 to track and prevent the activities of the Communist Party of India (Maoist). The sources told The Indian Express that the probe has widened to include the alleged illegal access of call data records and internet protocol data records of thousands of people.
The SIT is headed by Hyderabad Police Commissioner V C Sajjanar.
