Siddaramaiah 'sting video': 3 JD(S) social media workers get anticipatory bail

A 'sting video' targeting former CM Siddaramaiah has sparked a political row in Karnataka after it was uploaded on social media and aired by some Kannada television channels.

Three people linked to the Janata Dal (Secular)'s social media operations appeared before Bengaluru police investigators on Thursday in connection with an alleged fake sting video on former Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah, even as a local court granted them anticipatory bail.

The three men -- Prajwal Prasad, a media consultant associated with the JD(S) in New Delhi, and party social media functionaries Chandan H S and Mohan Gowda K, whom home minister Priyank Kharge had earlier accused of evading the probe -- appeared before the Bengaluru Central Crime Branch (CCB) on Thursday evening.

Sources said the CCB also carried out legal procedures linked to the investigation at the official New Delhi residence of Union Minister and JDS leader H D Kumaraswamy on Thursday. On October 25, Kumaraswamy had urged JD(S) social media and war room workers to cooperate with the police investigating the origin and circulation of the video.

Siddaramaiah had lodged a police complaint on October 6, alleging defamation and blackmail over the purported sting video that emerged on a social media account titled 'Karnataka Honey Trap' on September 27 before being aired by some Kannada television channels.

From local TV channel to Delhi

Kumaraswamy, whose JD(S) is part of the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance, has implied that the 'sting operation' was conducted by Rakesh Shetty, his long-term adversary and a local television channel's managing director (MD), at the behest of another political adversary, Chief Minister D K Shivakumar.

Investigators claim the JD(S) social media unit obtained and uploaded the video after it was allegedly recorded during a 2023 operation conducted by Shetty, the MD of Power TV.

The probe led to the arrest of Delhi-based Ritesh Pandey on October 24. According to investigators, Pandey allegedly uploaded the video and told police that he had been instructed to do so by Prajwal Prasad.

The video was allegedly handed over to Pandey on a pen drive before he transferred it to a second-hand mobile phone and uploaded it. He was subsequently released on bail.

In court, Prasad's counsel argued that he was neither the owner, creator, nor administrator of the YouTube channel 'Karnataka Honey Trap'. Chandan and Mohan Gowda similarly contended that they had no role in creating the channel and said they were "public-spirited" individuals acting in the public interest.

Political fallout of the 'sting video'

The case has triggered sharp exchanges between Kumaraswamy and Priyank and deepened political tensions between Shivakumar and Siddaramaiah.

Kumaraswamy has alleged that the original sting operation was orchestrated by Shetty at the behest of Shivakumar, a charge rejected by the Congress. Priyank, in turn, has accused the JD(S) of placing the video in the public domain.

"Your Chief Minister, your father, and you; all three together tricked Rahul Gandhi and yanked the chair from under Siddaramaiah. This is a conspiracy hatched in the high command and local leaders squabble," Kumaraswamy said in a social media post on Thursday, targeting Priyank, son of All India Congress Committee chief Mallikarjun Kharge.

"If there is anyone who has insulted Shri Siddaramaiah the most, it's only Kumaraswamy. If there is anyone who prevented Shri Siddaramaiah from becoming Chief Minister, it's only Kumaraswamy. This is a truth that clearly emerges in the political history of Karnataka. Those who hounded Shri Siddaramaiah throughout his political life have now turned toward the Kharge family," Priyank said in response.

Initially, Kumaraswamy claimed that the police were targeting his party workers. Later, he called for cooperation from party workers after Siddaramaiah and his son, Yathindra, indicated the involvement of Congress insiders in the creation of the video ahead of the 2023 state polls, where the Congress won a majority, and Siddaramaiah held the CM post for three years. Kumaraswamy has also led protests demanding action against Shetty, who obtained anticipatory bail on October 23.

The police have also questioned Mangaluru Congress worker Krupa Alva on efforts to assist Shetty's inquiries into rumours that purportedly prompted the 2023 hidden-camera operation, which was reportedly abandoned by his channel after failing to substantiate the rumours.

Fabricated narrative: What police probe found

In a statement issued on Thursday, the CCB said evidence collected so far indicates the "allegations of sexual abuse portrayed in the video is part of a fabricated and deliberately constructed narrative."

"The statements recorded and evidence collected during the investigation thus far do not substantiate the occurrence of any such incident as depicted in the video. All individuals appearing in the video have been identified and extensively examined, some on multiple occasions," the statement added.

"Their statements and the evidence collected so far, prima facie, with regard to the allegations made or implied in the recording about any individuals mentioned in the video, is false and concocted," the CCB said.

The CCB said the original mobile phone allegedly used to record the video had been traced, recovered, and seized, and had been sent for forensic examination.

The police said the video was recorded in 2023 but purportedly relates to an incident from 2011. "The circumstances under which the video was created, the purpose behind recording it nearly 12 years after the alleged incident, the identities and roles of those involved and their possible motives are all being thoroughly investigated," the CCB said.

Anonymous accounts uploaded video

The CCB said technical analysis showed the video was uploaded to multiple social media platforms, including YouTube and X, during September and October 2026. "The uploading was carried out through anonymous accounts employing sophisticated methods of digital concealment, including Virtual Private Networks (VPNs), masked IP addresses, virtual and spoofed phone numbers and other anonymisation techniques, with digital traces associated with locations outside Karnataka," it added.

Investigators traced the device used for the YouTube upload to a Delhi shop dealing in used and refurbished mobile phones and identified the individuals involved in procuring it, the CCB said.

The investigators added that Pandey, who was arrested from NCR on October 24, worked as a freelance social media content creator and "may have associations with certain highly politically connected individuals" in the national capital.

The CCB further said the circulation of the video appeared to be part of a "deliberate attempt to malign and discredit" public figures, influence public opinion and trigger political controversy.