Union Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy during press meet in Bengaluru on November 2, 2026. | Photo Credit: SUDHAKARA JAIN A day after the Bengaluru City Police alleged that the ‘sting’ video targeting former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah was exchanged at his residence in Delhi, Union Minister H.D.

Kumaraswamy on Monday (November 2, 2026) dared the police to take action against him while refuting the claim.At his press conference, turning the tables on Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar, Mr.

Kumaraswamy accused him of having met and conspired with the accused to distribute “sleaze” videos of former Hassan MP Prajwal Revanna.Accusing Bengaluru Police Commissioner Seemanth Kumar Singh of acting on the instructions of the Chief Minister, he told media persons: “Many people visit my residence, and there is no restriction on visitors. I do not know whom the Police Commissioner is referring to.”He dared the police to summon him for investigation and said that “nobody has the guts” to touch him.

He also urged the Bengaluru Police to reveal the location from where they arrested a man allegedly linked to him in the sting operation. Karnataka sting operation row: What we know so far Two former chief ministers, a sitting chief minister and a purported sting operation - and what you get is a fresh political storm brewing in Karnataka.

The controversy began in September, when a purported sting video filmed in 2023, containing allegations by a woman against former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, surfaced online. Who is behind the purported video, and who stands to gain from its circulation?

What do we know from the police investigation so far? What does this controversy reveal about the state of Karnataka politics? | Video Credit: The Hindu Complaint by mailHe said there was a suspicion that the investigation was not being conducted objectively. “The woman victim had complained to the Karnataka State Commission for Protection of Child Rights.

The complaint was not acted upon then. People behind the sting went to Kerala with the mala fide intention of meeting the woman for the interview,” he added.Incidentally, Congress leader Kripa Alva was the chairperson of the commission from 2015 to 2018 during Mr.

Siddaramaiah’s first tenure. Ms.

Alva, who has been interrogated by the police, has been expelled from the Congress.“There is information that the woman who had made serious accusations against the former Chief Minister has changed her statement. If this is true, why is she not being presented before the court?

If she has changed her statement, she is part of the conspiracy behind the sting operation. She too should be named as an accused,” he said.“Instead of undertaking the investigation properly, the police are satisfied with giving a clean chit to Mr.

Siddaramaiah. Why are the police still investigating if the sting operation is fake?

Why has the prime accused in the sting operation, Rakesh Shetty, not been arrested yet,” he asked.Hours before Mr. Kumaraswamy’s press conference, the Central Crime Branch (CCB) of the Bengaluru Police searched the residence and office of Power TV managing director Rakesh Shetty.

The searches were carried out by multiple teams of investigators after obtaining a search warrant from a court. Published - November 03, 2026 01:11 pm IST