Phone linked to Siddaramaiah sting video taken to Kumaraswamy’s Delhi residence: Police
The phone is suspected to have been used to upload a video targeting former Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah.
An alleged mobile phone, purchased at the direction of a Janata Dal (Secular) social media operative, was delivered to Union minister HD Kumaraswamy's residence in New Delhi, according to Bengaluru police commissioner Seemant Kumar Singh. The phone is believed to have been utilized to upload a video targeting former Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah.
Police are investigating the statements of an arrested individual, Ritesh Pandey, to determine who ordered the purchase and how the device was employed to disseminate the footage. Pandey, a freelance social media content creator based in Delhi, was detained on October 24 and later released on bail by a Bengaluru court. According to Singh, Pandey informed investigators that he and his associate Vinod Sharma purchased the handset from a mobile phone shop in Delhi's Karol Bagh district at the behest of Prajwal Prasad, a media consultant linked to Kumaraswamy's office.
The duo subsequently handed the phone to Prasad at the minister's residence on Kushak Road. Singh stated that Ritesh disclosed to investigators that he and Sharma purchased the handset on Prasad's instructions. Police are examining CCTV footage from the shop, financial transactions between Pandey and Prasad, and other digital records to corroborate the account.
Prasad and Pandey have been issued notices, but neither has responded to them or sought anticipatory bail. The investigation aims to uncover the origins of the video and its journey from the original source to the parties who uploaded and disseminated it. Police have identified a mobile phone linked to the video's upload to YouTube.
They have also recovered the phone used to record the original footage and sent it for forensic examination. The Central Crime Branch is investigating the recording, its transfer, and its online publication. Siddaramaiah filed a police complaint on October 6 regarding the video's circulation. Power TV managing director Rakesh Shetty and Congress leader Kripa Alva are among those being questioned in connection with the video's origins.
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