BRS president K Chandrasekar Rao (File photo)

HYDERABAD: Telangana’s former chief minister and BRS president K Chandrasekar Rao, who was questioned for five hours on Sunday by the SIT probing the alleged phone tapping and illegal surveillance case, was reportedly made to read certain provisions of Indian Telegraph Act.“KCR was asked to read the provisions of the Act after he claimed to be ignorant about it, and said he had no knowledge about phone lines of individuals being monitored during his govt,” said a source.Sources said the ex-CM was asked if he knew why telephone lines were intercepted and what rules must be followed for destruction of material related to tapping.The SIT sleuths — led by S M Vijay Kumar, joint commissioner of police (special branch) — also asked KCR why the BRS govt retained T Prabhakar Rao as chief of Special Intelligence Bureau (SIB) even after retirement. Prabhakar Rao was named as prime accused in the case by Hyderabad police in 2024, after Congress assumed office.A large posse of policemen was deployed in and around KCR’s Banjara Hills residence throughout the day. Senior party members, including BRS working president K T Rama Rao and former state minister Harish Rao, were present inside the house during the questioning.While KCR was initially served a notice for questioning on Jan 29, it was pushed to Feb 1 after he sought more time. However, his request to conduct the interrogation at his farmhouse in Erravalli was turned down. The SIT arrived at KCR’s house around 2.45 pm, carrying a large volume of material related to the investigation. The questioning began around 3 pm. Later the SIT issued a statement saying it had concluded KCR’s questioning. With BRS workers threatening to protest against the notice served to KCR by the SIT, security was beefed up across the state.