In Bengaluru, a 35-year-old ‘journalist’ named Sharath Sharma Kalagaru was arrested on Monday, 29th December. He is accused of attempting to extort ₹15 lakh from three local police inspectors. Sharath, who lives in the Windsor Layout area, reportedly threatened the officers by claiming he had proof they were working secretly with drug dealers.
The situation started following a massive drug bust in Karnataka involving the Mumbai Police, Maharashtra’s Anti-Narcotics Task Force, and the NCB, where drugs worth ₹1.2 crore were seized.
According to the complaint filed by Sub-Inspector Ramesh Bandrada, Sharath called him on 28th December by claiming that the inspectors from Kothanur, Avalahalli, and Bagaluru stations, Chethan Kumar, Ramakrishna Reddy, and Srinivas, were in league with peddlers.
He demanded ₹5 lakh from each officer by giving warning that if they didn’t pay, the story would break on a news channel and they would lose their jobs.
A few days later, those three specific inspectors were actually suspended. They were removed from duty because they did not collect enough information about the drug networks, even though they were part of the community policing programme called “Mane Manege Police”.
Sharath presented himself as a media professional; his career background has raised some questions.
According to his LinkedIn profile, he is currently employed as a journalist at Dainik Bhaskar.
Aside from his professional life, Sharath has also been vocal about his personal political views.
Personal opinion. Rahul Gandhi will be next PM and Akhilesh Yadav will be Home Minister.
— Sharath Sharma Kalagaru (@sharathmsharma) August 7, 2025
He recently shared his opinion that the political landscape of the country is set for a major shift, stating his belief that Rahul Gandhi will be the next Prime Minister and Akhilesh Yadav will take over as the Home Minister.
The police were able to build a case against him because Sub-Inspector Bandrada recorded their WhatsApp calls and kept screenshots of their messages. Based on this evidence, an FIR was filed under Section 308 (6) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, which covers threats and extortion.
The police have also booked the owner and a reporter of BTV Kannada in connection with the case. Sharath was taken to court on Tuesday, 30th December and will stay in police custody for two days.
