HYDERABAD: Telangana Department of Agriculture has requested the Cyber Crime Wing of the state police to investigate unauthorised SMS messages related to the Rythu Bharosa scheme that were delivered to approximately 2,73,128 farmers.In a letter dated November 4, 2026, Dr. B. Gopi, IAS, Director of Agriculture, informed the Director General of Police, Cyber Crime Wing, that the department had noticed the delivery of these messages. He clarified that the Department of Agriculture had neither initiated nor authorised any such SMS communication to the farmers.The Director noted that while the department uses the CDAC SMS Service Portal for official communications, it had not initiated any transmission of this nature. He stated that there is a possibility of unauthorised access, misuse of the department’s name, or misuse of SMS communication channels to send messages to farmers.Action soughtReferring to a CDAC portal report related to the SMS dated November 4, the department requested the Cyber Crime Wing to investigate the source and origin of the messages, identify the agency, individual, or entity responsible for initiating and transmitting them, examine whether any unauthorised access or misuse of the CDAC SMS Service Portal or any other SMS gateway had taken place, trace technical details, including the SMS gateway, sender ID, transmission logs and related IP addresses, and take appropriate legal action against those responsible.The department stated that the matter is of serious concern, as such unauthorised messages may create confusion among farmers and adversely affect the credibility of the department and the Rythu Bharosa Scheme. It requested that the matter be treated as urgent and that necessary investigation and action be initiated. A copy of the letter has been submitted to the APC and Secretary to Agriculture for their information.
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