Ex-SIB Officials Tapped Actresses' Phones on False 'Maoist' Pretext
Phone Tapping Scandal: Tollywood Actresses Dubbed ‘Maoists’ to Get Tapping Permission
Hyderabad, June 27: The then Special Intelligence Bureau (SIB), in its phone-tapping operation during the BRS government, dubbed eight Tollywood actresses as key Maoists to secure permission to tap their phones, sources told Deccan Chronicle on Friday.
Permission from the review committee comprising top officials, including the Chief Secretary, is mandatory for tapping the phones of suspects, along with other requirements.
These actresses had fancy mobile phone numbers from their states of origin like Kerala, Maharashtra, Delhi and Karnataka. Following the inputs from intercepting their phones, the then-sleuths of the city Task Force visited star hotels at the time of the actresses were to receive their movie-linked payments in an attempt to seize cash, sources said.
The SIB’s remit, among others, was to track Maoists. Sources said they used this requirement as a ruse to get permission for tapping the phones of actresses, and used the information to shake them down.
The case against the SIB is that its officials destroyed data collected over the years with regard to Maoists, in their attempt to erase all traces of the phone-tapping operation. The probe into the matter is being headed by the Special Investigation Team.
