Real estate businessman files phone tapping case against former minister T. Harish Rao

Hyderabad: A phone tapping case has been filed against former Minister T. Harish Rao, Radha Kishan Rao, and others at Panjagutta Police Station on December 1, 2024. The complaint, lodged by Gadhagoni Chakradhar Goud, a real estate businessman and the founder of the "Farmers First Foundation," alleges harassment, threats, and unlawful surveillance of his phone.

According to the complainant, Gadhagoni Chakradhar Goud, a resident of Nizampet, Hyderabad, and originally from Siddipet, has been engaged in the real estate business since 2008. In 2019, he shifted his residence to Nizampet and established the "Farmers First Foundation" in 2021 at GS Chambers, Nagarjuna Circle, Panjagutta. The foundation, as per the complainant, aims to encourage organic farming by providing farmers with modern techniques and creating business opportunities through stalls.

On September 25, 2022, Chakradhar organized a program at Konda Bhudevi Garden near the new bus stand in Siddipet, where he financially supported the families of 100 agricultural tenant farmers who had committed suicide, offering Rs 1 lakh to each family, amounting to Rs 1 crore in total. According to the complainant, he did not invite any political leader, including then-MLA and Minister T. Harish Rao, to the event. This, Goud alleges, led to a grudge from Harish Rao, as his charitable activities were gaining significant attention and support, positioning Goud as a popular figure among poor families.

Furthermore, Goud claims that he announced plans to establish small-scale industries to empower these families, which he believes Harish Rao saw as potential competition. As a result, Goud alleges that Harish Rao, along with others, conspired to harm him by falsely implicating him in fabricated cases, tarnishing his reputation, and attempting to dissuade him from continuing his charitable work. Goud also states that Harish Rao threatened him with dire consequences, including the possibility of being killed if he did not stop his charity work in the constituency.

On January 23, 2023, Goud announced plans to start a small-scale matchbox company, "Aggipetta Macha," in Siddipet district to uplift the lives of poor families. Shortly afterward, on February 4, 2023, a false case (Cr. No. 49/2023, U/s 376 r/w 511 IPC) was filed against him, which he claims was instigated by Harish Rao. Goud was arrested, taken to the ACP office in Shamirpet, and later remanded to judicial custody. He was granted bail after 10 days.

Subsequent to his release, Goud states that he began receiving threatening messages from unknown numbers on his mobile phone, asking where his money was coming from and threatening him with dire consequences. Despite these threats, Goud claims he continued his charitable work undeterred.

In March 2023, Goud joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Delhi, in the presence of prominent BJP leaders like Etala Rajender and Tarun Chugh. In April 2023, he provided financial assistance to farmers in Siddipet who had been affected by heavy rains, further increasing his visibility and popularity among poor farmer families. On April 28, 2023, while at his Panjagutta office, plainclothes police officers raided his office, took him into custody, and produced him before Radha Kishan Rao, a task force police officer.

According to Goud's complaint, Radha Kishan Rao threatened him, stating that Harish Rao was angry with him for organizing programs in his constituency without consent. He was offered a “chance to live peacefully” if he switched his party affiliation to BRS (Bharat Rashtra Samithi), otherwise, he was threatened with serious consequences.

When Goud refused, Radha Kishan Rao allegedly took his phone number and later took him to the CCS police station, where two more cases, Cr. No. 908/2023 and Cr. No. 909/2023, were registered against him. After several hours, Goud claims that he was handed back his phone and sent to judicial remand. He was later granted bail in both cases. Goud was again allegedly implicated in a false case (Cr. No. 522/2023) at Ghatkesar Police Station, filed by a person named Avinash.

On August 29, 2023, Goud states that he received an email from Apple (threat notification @ apple.com) warning that his iPhone might be targeted by state-sponsored attackers. The email suggested that such attackers could remotely access his sensitive data, communications, and even his device's microphone or camera. Although he updated his phone following Apple's instructions, Goud suspected his phone was being tapped but did not take immediate action due to his ongoing legal battles.

According to Goud, during his election campaign for the MLA seat in Siddipet on a BJP ticket, several of his supporters and followers informed him that they had received threatening calls, warning them not to attend his events. These individuals also reported that the callers knew personal details of their conversations and contacts, leading Goud to suspect that his phone was being tapped. He believes that T. Harish Rao, using state intelligence resources, was monitoring his activities, associates, and family members in an attempt to sabotage his political career and unlawfully influence the outcome of the elections.

After the 2023 general assembly elections, Goud claims he learned through the media that phone tapping cases were under investigation. He now firmly believes that his phone, as well as his wife’s phone, were illegally tapped. Goud suspects that T. Harish Rao, abusing his power as a minister, influenced police officials to monitor his activities and orchestrate false cases against him. Despite submitting multiple petitions to the police department, Goud claims no action was taken against those responsible for the surveillance, which caused him irreparable harm and threats to his life.

Goud then approached the Honorable High Court of Telangana with a writ petition seeking directions to the police to investigate the matter and deliver justice to him and his family. In light of the above, Panjagutta SHO Shobhan registered a case under U/s 120(B), 386, 409, 506 r/w 34 IPC, and Sec 66 of the IT Act and initiated an investigation into the matter.

Phone tapping case against former BRS minister in Panjagutta PS#Hyderabad: A phone tapping case has been registered against the former BRS minister T Harish Rao and others at the Panjagutta police station. The complaint was filed by the founder of “Farmers First Foundation”… pic.twitter.com/p0WicNu2cF

— Hyderabad Mail (@Hyderabad_Mail) December 3, 2024