BENGALURU: The mobile phone that was allegedly used in the sting operation targeting former chief minister Siddaramaiah was handed over to an accused at the official residence of Union Minister HD Kumaraswamy in New Delhi, Bengaluru Police Commissioner Seemanth Kumar Singh said on Sunday.
“The accused, Ritesh Pandey, who had been arrested, disclosed during interrogation that he and another accused, Vinod Sharma, purchased a mobile phone from a shop in Karol Bagh, Delhi, on the instructions of Prajwal Prasad. They later took it to Kumaraswamy’s official residence on Kushak Road in New Delhi and handed it over to Prasad, who was present in the house,” the commissioner told the media.
He said these details were given by Pandey and the claims are being verified as part of the ongoing investigation.
The Central Crime Branch (CCB) Cyber Crime Police arrested Pandey in Delhi on October 24 in connection with the case registered at the Cyber Crime Police Station, based on the complaint filed by Siddaramaiah. Pandey is now out on bail.
“Notices have been issued to Vinod Sharma and Prajwal Prasad, but both have not responded and are absconding. We have learnt that they have filed anticipatory bail applications. Further investigation will only be possible after we interrogate Vinod and Prajwal once they are arrested.
Their interrogation is expected to help establish the sequence of events and identify others involved in the alleged operation. We have gathered technical evidence, including CCTV footage and other digital records, besides detecting suspicious financial transactions between Pandey and Prasad,” the officer said.
Social media team under scanner
“We are examining the roles of all the three, who are reportedly associated with the social media team at the union minister’s office,” the commissioner said. The police are also probing on whose instructions the accused were acting on and whether others were involved in orchestrating the alleged sting operation.
Singh said the police are examining the case from different angles and all claims and evidence will be verified before arriving at conclusions. The development comes days after the Bengaluru police described the allegations of sexual abuse portrayed in the viral sting video involving Siddaramaiah as a fabricated and deliberately constructed narrative.
The commissioner’s office had released a statement, stating that the evidence collected so far, including statements of individuals appearing in the video, did not substantiate the alleged incident depicted in the recording. The police said all those featured in the video had been identified and examined, some of them more than once.
HDK accuses officer of ‘leaking’ information
Union Minister H D Kumaraswamy on Sunday slammed Bengaluru Police Commissioner Seemant Kumar Singh for “leaking” confidential information related to the investigation into the sting operation. He said he was aware of the direction in which the investigation was progressing and what was happening within the police department | P4
