Daijiworld Media Network - Hyderabad
Hyderabad, May 29: Former deputy commissioner of police P Radha Kishan Rao, accused in a high-profile phone-tapping case, has made explosive allegations in his confession statement. He claims that former Telangana chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao (KCR) sought to use the BRS MLAs poaching case against the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) as leverage to resolve a money laundering investigation involving his daughter, K Kavitha.
Kavitha has been in Tihar Jail since March 27, following her arrest by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on March 15 on charges related to money laundering connected to the now-scrapped Delhi excise policy.
In his statement, the former police official alleges that KCR intended to use the poaching case to facilitate the arrest of BJP national general secretary, B L Santhosh. This, he claimed, was part of a strategy to pressure the BJP into compromising on the ED case against Kavitha.
The confession reads: “A Special Investigation Team (SIT) was formed, and KCR wanted the arrest of senior BJP leader Santhosh to strengthen the case so that the BJP would seek a compromise, which could be used to resolve the ED case against his daughter, MLC K Kavitha. However, due to the inefficiency of some Cyberabad police officials, a key person escaped apprehension. Later, the case went to the high court, which issued orders not to arrest, and then the SIT case was transferred to the CBI."
The former police official also described KCR, referred to indirectly as 'Peddayana,' as ‘very angry’ when the plan did not unfold as expected.
Rao further confessed to phone-tapping during the BRS government, as reported by the Indian Express. He revealed that this surveillance, directed by SIB chief T Prabhakar Rao, targeted officers in the Telangana Special Intelligence Bureau (SIB), critics of KCR, and perceived threats to the BRS government.
The Telangana high court had earlier transferred the investigation into the alleged attempt to poach BRS MLAs from the SIT to the CBI. This followed the arrests of Ramachandra Bharati alias Satish Sharma, Nandu Kumar, and Simhayaji Swamy, who were accused of attempting to lure four BRS MLAs to join the BJP. The accused were granted bail by the high court.
The FIR lodged by then BRS MLA Pilot Rohith Reddy on October 26, 2022, alleged that he was offered Rs 100 crore to defect from the TRS (now BRS) and run as a BJP candidate in the Telangana Assembly election.