Union Minister Bandi Sanjay appears before SIT in phone-tapping case

Hyderabad, Aug 8 (IANS) Union Minister of State for Home Affairs, Bandi Sanjay Kumar, on Friday appeared before the Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing the phone-tapping case to record his statement as a witness.

After offering prayers at Hanuman temple in Khairatabad, the BJP leader along with a large number of supporters walked to Dilkusha guesthouse, where he will be examined by the SIT officials.

The phone tapping by the BRS government came to light in March last year, a few months after BRS lost power in Telangana.

Hundreds of BJP workers carrying party flags and placards joined Bandi Sanjay to show solidarity with him.

The minister told media persons that he would hand over to the SIT, all the information and records he has related to the case.

Bandi Sanjay said the SIT had issued a notice to him last month, requesting him to appear before them, but he could not appear due to the Parliament session.

“As a central minister and as a responsible citizen, I will submit whatever information I have to the Investigating Offer,” he said.

He claimed that he was the one who exposed the phone tapping. “I am the first victim of phone tapping. Not only my phones but also the phones of my family members, household staff, and my followers were also tapped,” he said.

He, however, alleged that the government was not giving full freedom to the SIT officials to conduct the investigation. He said the government was adopting delaying tactics in the name of Commissions and enquiry.

He alleged that the Congress and BRS were together doing drama as not a single person from the family of former Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao (KCR) has been arrested so far.

The MoS reiterated the demand for handing over the case to the CBI, saying this would bring out the truth.

After receiving the SIT notice on July 17, Bandi Sanjay had said that KCR committed the crime of phone tapping but he got the invitation as a witness.

Leaders of some political parties including Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee (TPCC) president Mahesh Kumar Goud, BJP MP and former minister Eatala Rajender have already deposed before the SIT as witnesses.

Police last year arrested four police officials in the case. They were later released on bail.

Former chief of State Intelligence Bureau (SIB) Prabhakar Rao, who is the main accused in the case, returned from the United States in June on the direction of the Supreme Court. He has been summoned by the SIT multiple times for questioning.

When BRS was in power, a team was allegedly constituted in the SIB to tap the phones of leaders of Opposition parties, dissidents within BRS, businesspersons, celebrities, journalists and even judges.

--IANS

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