Amid the growing fears of an ugly showdown between the two warring States of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh over the alleged telephone tapping, the AP Government on Wedneday formed a six membmer Special Investigation Team headed by Deputy Inspector General of Police Shaikh Mohammed Iqbal.
The SIT will look into 87 cases booked against Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao in various police stations in Andhra Pradesh for his alleged role in tapping of phone of his Andhra Pradesh counterpart N Chandrababu Naidu.
The AP Government has already referred one case against KCR to the Crime Investigation Department. The case was booked by one Jerusalem Muttaiah, an absconding accused in the cash-for-vote scam involving Telugu Desam leaders. While the Telangana Government says Muttaiah was involved in the conspiracy to bribe a nominated MlA Stephenson, he has complained to the AP Police that he was facing threat from the Telangana Government.
The move to set up the SIT to probe the cases against KCR was being seen as a counter strategy of Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu who was facing the prospects of arrest by the ACB in the cash for vote scam.
AP Cabinet, chaired by Naidu on Wednesday discussed the prevailing situation between the two States and escalating confrontation with Telangana. Sources said that Naidu told his Cabinet colleagues that there was a concrete evidence of tapping of phones. “We know when exactly the phones were tapped”, he told the ministers and advised them to remain calm. “There is nothing to worry about the cases booked by Telangana government”, sources quoted him as telling his ministers.
Meanwhile with Andhra Pradesh police taking over the security of Chief Minister, Ministers, MlAs and MPS of Andhra Pradesh as well as other important installations of the state in Hyderabad including the office of the ruling Telugu Desam party a curious situation has emerged in the common capital with two police forces working at cross purposes.
At the same time AP government also withdrew 20 platoon of its special police forces from the common capital as a mark of protest.
Alarmed over both the development the top brass of Telangana police met the governor ESl Narasimhan and briefed him about the situation. Telangana Director General of Police Anurag Sharma drew the attention of the governor to the anomaly of one state deploying its police force in the jurisdiction of another state. He objected to the activities of AP Police in Hyderabad.
Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao also met the governor again today and discussed the situation. This was their second meeting in two days. He too raised the issue of the interference of the AP police in the jurisdiction of Telangana police.
While Telangana police was providing the security to AP Chief Minister till recently, the security at his residence has now been taken over AP Police turning it in to a impregnable fortress and nobody was allowed entry in to the vicinity of the residence.