A sting operation involving senior Congress politician and former Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has stirred a major political storm not only in the state but also within the Congress Party. The sting operation, which was recorded in February 2023, surfaced over a month ago, in September, creating challenges for Siddaramaiah.
The sting operation shows a conversation between Rakesh Shetty, managing director of Kannada television channel Power TV, former Congress leader Krupa Alva, and an unidentified woman. In the video, the woman makes allegations of sexual misconduct against Siddaramaiah and says that she was victimised by the former CM in 2011, when Siddaramaiah was Leader of the Opposition in Karnataka. The video was published by Karnataka Honey Trap on September 26, 2026, and was widely circulated on the internet.
Siddaramaiah points to internal conspiracy
On October 6, 2026, Siddaramaiah filed a police complaint asserting extortion, blackmail, and defamation with the Bengaluru cybercrime police. Denying the allegations made in the video, Siddaramaiah said that it was deliberately created and circulated to damage his political reputation and that internal elements from the Congress were behind it.
A case was filed by the police based on Siddaramaiah’s complaint. The Congress politician also approached a civil court seeking an injunction against the circulation of the videos. The court questioned Krupa Alva on October 7, 10, and 18, who denied being the owner, creator, or administrator of the YouTube channel on which the video appeared. Alva was granted anticipatory bail on November 2, days after she was expelled from the Congress Party for six years.
The court issued an injunction on October 13, prohibiting the publication or circulation of the videos and related defamatory material. Shetty, who spearheaded the sting operation, also obtained anticipatory bail on October 18. The Bengaluru Police said in a statement on October 29 that an investigation into the sting operation video prima facie found that the allegations mentioned in the video are part of an allegedly fabricated and deliberately constructed narrative.
A political twist in the case
The investigation into the video led he police to Ritesh Pandey, a Delhi-based freelance social-media content creator. The Bengaluru Central Crime Branch (CCB) arrested Pandey, who is accused of uploading the video online on October 24. Pandey reportedly told investigators that he uploaded the footage on the instructions of Prajwal Prasad, associated with JD(S)’s social media team.
Pandey was given the sting operation video on a pen drive. He uploaded it online using a second-hand mobile phone that he purchased for the purpose. Pandey was produced before the court and released on bail. In a shocking turn, Pandey reportedly told the police that the mobile phone used for uploading the video exchanged hands at the Delhi official residence of Union Minister HD Kumaraswamy.
It is claimed that Pandey and a person identified as Vinod Sharma bought the phone from a shop in Delhi’s Karol Bagh and later gave it to Prajwal Prasad, a media consultant associated with Kumaraswamy at the minister’s official residence. Bengaluru Police Commissioner Seemant Kumar Singh on Sunday (November 1, 2026), said that the mobile phone used in the sting operation was purchased in Delhi and handed over to Prajwal Prasad at the official residence of Union Minister HD Kumaraswamy in Delhi.
Bengaluru Police Commissioner Seemant Kumar Singh said a mobile phone allegedly used in the Siddaramaiah sting operation was exchanged at Union Minister HD Kumaraswamy’s official residence in Delhi. He said Prajwal Prasad, who was present at the residence, directed Ritesh Pandey and Vinod Sharma to buy the phone from Karol Bagh and hand it over to him. The Commissioner added that it is too early to draw conclusions about the Union Minister’s role. #siddaramaiah #hdkumaraswamy #karnataka #bengaluru #bengalurupolice #ccb #siddaramaiahstingcase
— Salar News (@EnglishSalar) November 1, 2026
Prasad, who has secured anticipatory bail, had been absconding. He was served a notice by the CCB, after which he appeared before the agency on Tuesday (November 3, 2026) for questioning. Responding to the allegation, Kumaraswamy conveyed that it was an attempt to malign his family.
VIDEO | Bengaluru: Bengaluru Police Commissioner Seemant Kumar Singh said on Sunday that the mobile phone allegedly used in the sting operation targeting former Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah was purchased in Delhi and handed over to a person named Prajwal Prasad at the official residence of Union Minister H D Kumaraswamy in the national capital. Responding to this, Union Minister H D Kumaraswamy, while addressing the media in Bengaluru on Monday, said the allegations were made to malign his family. He also questioned the investigation into the 2023 case involving allegations over Prajwal Revanna’s explicit videos, claiming that the accused were allegedly at the residence of then Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar. (Full video available on PTI Videos – https://t.co/bIyFWTfmBd)
— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) November 2, 2026
Rift within Karnataka Congress
While the case remains under investigation, the entire sting operation controversy has exposed an internal rift within the Congress Party in the state. Last week, Siddaramaiah publicly said that some Congress leaders were involved in the sting operation and that the police should unravel the truth behind the issue.
The sting operation controversy comes amid the longstanding speculations of the rivalry between Siddaramaiah and Karnataka CM DK Shivakumar. After the INDI bloc’s ‘Chalo Dilli’ rally at Ramlila Maidan on Monday (November 2, 2026), Siddaramaiah held a closed-door meeting with Rahul Gandhi at Sonia Gandhi’s residence. Reports quoting sources stated that the former Karnataka CM told Rahul Gandhi that a section of Congress leaders in Karnataka were involved in the sting operation and wanted to damage his reputation.
He also expressed dissatisfaction over Karnataka Police’s action on the entire matter despite Congress being in power in the state. Siddaramaiah told Gandhi that if his reputation is maligned like this, he would not participate in campaigning in the coming elections, particularly the 2028 Assembly polls.
