SIT Questions BRS MLC K Naveen Rao, Phone Tapping Probe Enters Crucial Phase
MLC Appears Before Special Investigation Team at Jubilee Hills Police Station
Hyderabad: The investigation into the sensational unauthorised phone-tapping has entered a critical phase after the Special Investigation Team (SIT) questioned MLC K. Naveen Rao on Sunday.
The legislator appeared before investigators at the SIT office, located on the second floor of the Jubilee Hills police station, at 11 am to answer the SIT’s queries on his alleged role in the illegal surveillance network.
During their recent interrogation, the accused, including former SIB-OSD T. Prabhakar Rao, reportedly revealed that Naveen Rao acted as a key conduit between the technical surveillance teams and top-tier BRS leaders during the party's tenure. It is alleged that Rao maintained private electronic devices at his city residence to facilitate these operations.
The sources indicated that investigators confronted the MLC with technical evidence retrieved from a pen drive and other digital forensic data. “Naveen Rao is seen as a vital link in unmasking the political beneficiaries of the espionage ring. We have retrieved substantial technical evidence that necessitates his detailed questioning," a senior police officer disclosed.
The SIT team questioned Naveen Rao for over six hours and released him late in the evening. It has been focusing on the source of specialised surveillance devices, the funding behind their procurement and the scale of the alleged tapping.
The SIT officials asked Naveen, “How many phone numbers were intercepted and where the devices were installed?... What is the link between several BRS leaders and SIB officers?”
The probe, which is being fast-tracked by a recently reconstituted nine-member SIT under the direct supervision of Hyderabad police commissioner V.C. Sajjanar, is working against an early 2026 deadline to file a supplementary charge sheet.
The investigation has now shifted its focus from the technical execution of the tapping to the political masterminds who allegedly authorised the surveillance of judges, businessmen, and opposition politicians.
Naveen’s statement is being recorded for the first time as part of the SIT probe, based on the contents of his statement, the SIT is likely to summon and question some other BRS leaders in the coming days, reliable police sources disclosed.
The new SIT is scrutinising the roles of former high-ranking bureaucrats, including ex-chief secretary Somesh Kumar and former intelligence chief Naveen Chand, who were previously questioned as witnesses. Forensic analysis of recovered hardware is expected to establish a direct chain of command leading from the SIB’s "war-room" to the highest political offices of the previous regime.
