Hyderabad: In a major development with regard to the Telangana phone-tapping case, the state police is likely to issue notices to leading political figures for questioning after suspects admitted to have transferred large amounts of money in police vehicles on behalf of a major political party during last year's assembly elections, sources said.
It is learnt that the notices will be sent to the candidates who contested the Telangana assembly elections including some winning candidates.
Sources said that the Hawala angle into the case came to light as part of the ongoing investigation into the phone-tapping case. The police found that one Praneet Rao's gang had tapped the phones of public representatives and several hawala merchants.
After the elections concluded, the police suspected that the phones of the leaders and supporters of some parties were being tapped and the money they were moving was caught. When the accused were detained and interrogated as part of the taping investigation, they also verbally accepted these allegations, sources said.
Sources said that one of the suspects told the investigating officers that they had covered up their wrongdoing through an intricately set up modus operandi. While Praneet Rao and others kept a watch on the phones, Radhakishan Rao, who worked as DCP of the task force, played a key role in collecting the money being distributed at the field level. At the same time, it was found that another officer was instrumental in distributing money to the candidates of a major party and transported large amounts of funds across the state in armored police vehicles, sources said.
Investigators have arrested four cops in connection with the Telangana phone-tapping case so far.
Besides, former Deputy Commissioner of Police at the Commissioner's Task Force, P Radhakrishna Rao, Additional Superintendents of Police (SP) Bhujanga Rao and Thirupathanna, and Deputy SP Praneeth Rao have already been arrested in the case.
Prime accused T Prabhakhar Rao, is believed to be in the US.
On Sunday March 31, a businessman approached the Banjara Hills police station saying that he had been one of the victims in the phone tapping case.
