Phone-tapping episode: Congress MLAs urge police chief to grill tainted cops

Hyderabad: Congress MLAs led by Mahbubnagar MLA Yennam Srinivas Reddy urged the DGP to ensure that all police officers implicated in the incident are held accountable. He urged the top cop to ensure thorough interrogation and questioning of all individuals suspected to be involved in this, including the minister, during the probe.

The delegation called on DGP Ravi Gupta, demanding that the investigation include the procurement and analysis of call data records pertaining to the mobile numbers associated with the suspected individuals, including the former minister and implicated police officers. The MLAs also demanded that the probe include an examination of the surveillance equipment and logs maintained by the Special Intelligence Bureau (SIB) during the election period to ascertain any irregularities in its usage. “During election time, several incidents of threatening calls to my personal staff and my employees have come to my attention. This suspicion has arisen due to numerous reports and testimonies from citizens of Mahabubnagar town who claim to have experienced unusual interference and surveillance on their personal mobile phone lines during 2018–2023 in Mahbubnagar. These reports suggest a consistent trend of focused surveillance, especially targeting individuals who voice criticism of the governing party's policies, those affiliated with opposition parties, prominent and esteemed figures, and successful businessmen in Mahbubnagar town,” he pointed out.

The MLA asserted that extensive data gathered through the tapping of their mobile phones revealed that numerous citizens within the Mahabubnagar constituency have faced intimidation, coercion, and blackmail from the former minister and police officials in question, resulting in significant psychological distress.

Some of them have stopped their businesses, shifted their families, and settled in Hyderabad. “The unauthorised interception of private communications is not only a violation of my fundamental right to privacy but also a grave infringement upon the principles of justice and democratic governance. Such actions cannot be tolerated in a society that upholds the rule of law and respects individual liberties,” Mahbubnagar MLA added in his complaint.

G Niranjan, PCC senior vice president, wondered how the top technology from Israel was used for tapping the phones of opponents by the BRS government.