Union minister HD Kumaraswamy on Monday denied allegations that a mobile phone used to upload a “sting operation” video targeting former Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah was delivered to his official residence in New Delhi, accusing the state government of orchestrating a cover-up.
“Where was the accused Ritesh Pandey arrested from Delhi? Was he arrested at my residence? The investigation team did not arrest him at Kumaraswamy’s house. What address did he give in the police case? He may have said he was at Kumaraswamy’s house, but he was arrested in Ghaziabad,” Kumaraswamy said, refuting claims by the Bengaluru police commissioner Seemant Kumar Singh.
On Sunday, the police commissioner told reporters in Bengaluru that the second-hand phone was purchased from a Karol Bagh shop by Vinod Sharma and Ritesh Pandey on the instructions of Prajwal Prasad.
“They later handed the phone over to Prajwal Prasad at Kumaraswamy’s official residence in Delhi,” Singh told reporters, citing Pandey’s statement to the police.
Vinod Sharma and Prajwal Prasad are associated with Kumaraswamy’s social media team and have been summoned by the Central Crime Branch (CCB). Pandey was arrested on October 24, the first person to be arrested in the case after CCB took over the probe.
The controversy centres on footage allegedly recorded in 2023 about an incident said to have occurred in 2011. The video surfaced online in September and was subsequently circulated on social media and broadcast by TV channels.
{{/usCountry}}The controversy centres on footage allegedly recorded in 2023 about an incident said to have occurred in 2011. The video surfaced online in September and was subsequently circulated on social media and broadcast by TV channels.
{{/usCountry}}On October 29, the Bengaluru police said the allegations of sexual abuse portrayed in a viral video linked to Siddaramaiah were part of a fabricated and deliberately constructed narrative.
On Sunday, the police commissioner said investigators were analysing CCTV footage and financial transaction records to corroborate whether the video was uploaded using the device via Wi-Fi without a SIM card. CCB personnel also executed a search warrant at a private news channel’s office as part of the probe.
Karnataka home minister Priyank Kharge said the police possess “irrefutable technical evidence” linking multiple individuals associated with Kumaraswamy to the video’s circulation.
“If Kumaraswamy is serious about this investigation, he should tell his staff to appear before the police instead of seeking anticipatory bail,” Kharge said in Kalaburagi, emphasising that the law applies equally to all.