{
  "id": 17399901,
  "title": "Bengaluru Police trace source of ‘sting’ video; probe focuses on who handed it to Ritesh Pandey",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/31/bengaluru-police-trace-source-of-sting-video-probe-focuses-on-who",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-10-31T12:05:23.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "The Hindu",
    "slug": "the-hindu",
    "url": "https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/karnataka/bengaluru-police-trace-source-of-sting-video-probe-focuses-on-who-handed-it-to-ritesh-pandey/article71649057.ece"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Bengaluru police are investigating the origins of a controversial sting video related to a former chief minister's case. The probe is focused on determining who provided the video to Ritesh Pandey, a freelance social media content creator who shared it on various platforms. Police Commissioner Seemant Kumar Singh revealed that the investigation has examined three occurrences of the video's appearance - in 2021, 2023, and 2026. They have seized an original recording device and are questioning individuals associated with the incident. Pandey was arrested in Delhi and released on bail after uploading the video. The police seized his phone for technical analysis. They are also examining the chain of custody for the video, trying to uncover its original source and how it was passed along before being uploaded by Pandey.",
  "summary": "A preliminary investigation has found that the claim that the recording was made in 2023 is false. The police suspect that the same video was circulated on different social media platforms in September and October this year.",
  "key_points": [
    "Bengaluru police investigate origin of controversial sting video.",
    "Probe focuses on who provided video to Ritesh Pandey.",
    "Police seize recording device, question individuals associated with incident."
  ],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}