Hyderabad (Telangana) [India], January 29 : BRS chief and former Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao has requested the Special Investigation Team (SIT) to reschedule his questioning in the phone-tapping case, citing a busy schedule with municipal elections.
In a letter to the ACP, Jubilee Hills Division, Hyderabad, KCR stated that he is preoccupied with issuing authorisations for the elections and requested an alternative date for his examination, according to a party official.
"At present nomination to the elections to the municipalities and municipal corporations are underway. Tomorrow is the last date for filing nomination to the elections to the 116 municipalities and 7 municipal corporations. In view of the same, I am pre-occupied with issuing authorisation to a number of persons as the elections are being held on party basis," KCR said in a letter addressed to ACP P Venkatagiri.
"In view of the above, you may fix any other date of your convenience for my examination under Section 160 of the Cr PC," he added.
The SIT was scheduled to question KCR on Friday at his Erravalli farmhouse in Siddipet district. The location for the questioning was requested by KCR's team after the team accepted the notice, according to sources.
The case relates to widespread allegations of illegal phone surveillance and interception of media industry bigwigs, retired cops, and politicians during the BRS government tenure. Former DCP P. Radhakrishna Rao alleged that it was done to monitor then-Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao's political rivals.
Earlier, former minister Harish Rao, BRS Working President KT Rama Rao (KTR), and former BRS MP Santosh Rao were questioned by the SIT at its Jubilee Hills office in connection with the same case.
Speaking toabout the notice to KCR, Telangana Jagruthi founder K. Kavitha said the SIT has been "dragging" this issue for the past two years and called for a "transparent" probe.
"SIT has been dragging this issue for the past two years. If the government knew phone tapping had occurred, the investigation should have been more serious, but we have not seen that kind of response. I am sure KCR will give his side of the story. if the investigation is done in a transparent way, then the people who had been subjected to this injustice will be justified," she said.
Telangana BJP President N Ramchander Rao slammed the Congress government, alleging a lack of action in the phone-tapping case.
Ramchander Rao alleged that Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy is "paying back" because the BRS, during its rule, did not take any action against the Congress leader in the alleged Vote for Note case.
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