Media consultant Prajwal Prasad appeared before Bengaluru’s Central Crime Branch (CCB) for questioning in connection with a fabricated sting operation video targeting Siddaramaiah.
Investigating officers traced a mobile phone used in the operation that was allegedly handed over to Prasad at Union Minister H. D. Kumaraswamy's official residence in New Delhi.
Prasad secured interim bail prior to his appearance while authorities continue to probe the planning, funding, and circulation of the viral video.
Siddaramaiah Sting Case: Media Consultant Associated With Kumaraswamy's Office Appears Before CCB
Media Consultant Linked to Union Minister HD Kumaraswamy Appears Before Bengaluru Crime Branch in Connection with the Siddaramaiah Sting Case Video
Summary
A media consultant reportedly associated with the office of Union Minister H D Kumaraswamy appeared before the Bengaluru CCB's cybercrime police for questioning in connection with the circulation of the alleged sting video targeting former Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, officials said.
Prajwal Prasad, the media consultant, appeared at the Central Crime Branch headquarters on Tuesday in response to a notice issued by the investigators.
He had reportedly been absconding and subsequently secured interim anticipatory bail.
According to official sources, police are ascertaining Prasad's role and those behind him.
Bengaluru Police Commissioner Seemant Kumar Singh on Sunday said that the mobile phone allegedly used to upload the sting operation videos targeting Siddaramaiah on social media was purchased in New Delhi and handed over to Prajwal Prasad at Kumaraswamy's official residence in the national capital.
The handover was made on Prasad's instructions, according to the statement of arrested accused Ritesh Pandey, the Commissioner said.
According to Singh, Pandey, along with a person named Vinod Sharma, purchased the mobile phone from a shop in Delhi's Karol Bagh area and subsequently handed it over to Prasad at Kumaraswamy's official residence.
Pandey, a Delhi-based man, was arrested on October 24 in connection with uploading videos of the alleged sting operation on social media. He was the first person arrested in the case. The CCB Police had apprehended him in Delhi and brought him to the city for questioning.
Two videos containing serious allegations against Siddaramaiah were uploaded on YouTube, reportedly in September.
The Congress leader subsequently approached the court and obtained an injunction restraining the media from reporting on the videos. He also lodged a police complaint seeking an investigation.
Bengaluru city police last week had said that the allegations of sexual abuse portrayed in a viral sting video targeting Siddaramaiah were part of a fabricated and deliberately constructed narrative.
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