Karnataka sting operation row: Bengaluru CCB police arrest Delhi man

The Bengaluru Central Crime Branch (CCB) has arrested Delhi-based Ritesh Pandey in connection with the alleged sting operation involving former Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Saturday, October 24. This is the first arrest in the case, with investigators examining how the video was uploaded and circulated on social media.

According to police sources cited by the Times of India, Ritesh allegedly told investigators that he uploaded the video on the instructions of a person associated with the Janata Dal (Secular) social media team. Police said the footage was uploaded from his mobile phone.

Meanwhile, Deccan Herald reported that investigators are also examining Ritesh’s alleged links to a second-hand mobile phone suspected to have been used to upload the video. He was picked up in Delhi and brought to Bengaluru for questioning.

The police are tracing the digital trail to establish who uploaded the footage and how it subsequently spread across social media platforms, including Facebook. Home Minister Priyank Kharge said on Saturday that notices had been issued to several people suspected of uploading or sharing the video. Some of them had reportedly become untraceable, but efforts were underway to locate and question them.

The case relates to a purported sting video, reportedly filmed in 2023 and recently aired by local television channels, linking Siddaramaiah to allegations of blackmail and a supposed honey-trap network. The case has drawn political attention after Siddaramaiah alleged that the purported sting operation was intended to blackmail him and damage his reputation. His son, Urban Development Minister Yathindra Siddaramaiah, has alleged that people within the Congress were involved in the episode.

A Bengaluru civil court granted an interim injunction restraining certain media organisations and digital platforms from broadcasting or publishing allegedly defamatory content and viral videos linking him to the sting operation.

The JD(S), meanwhile, has sought an impartial probe into the recording and circulation of the video, alleging that it was manipulated and used for political purposes.