Union Minister and JD(S) leader H.D. Kumaraswamy stages protest in front of the office of the Bengaluru Police Commissioner on October 15, 2026.
| Photo Credit: Special arrangement
Union Minister for Heavy Industries and Steel H.D. Kumaraswamy on Thursday (October 15, 2026) accused Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar of being the “Pitamaha” (grand patriarch) of the alleged sting operation controversy and demanded that the police question him first in the investigation into a video linking former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah to the episode.
A day after the Central Crime Branch (CCB) picked up, among others, a member of the JD(S) social media wing for questioning, Mr. Kumaraswamy met Bengaluru Police Commissioner Seemanth Kumar Singh and accused the Chief Minister, Home Minister Priyank Kharge, and the police of targeting the party’s social media workers. Instead of arresting the party workers, he asked the police to arrest him and conduct the probe.
Responding to Mr. Kharge’s reported remark on Wednesday (October 14, 2026) that he too could be questioned as part of the investigation, Mr. Kumaraswamy went to the Police Commissioner’s office and challenged the police to begin their inquiry with him.
Check phone records
He also demanded that investigators examine Mr. Shivakumar’s phone records and other relevant details to establish the facts behind the alleged operation.
Earlier in the day, addressing a press conference at the JD(S) headquarters in Bengaluru, Mr. Kumaraswamy sought an investigation by a sitting judge of the High Court into the controversy. He named Rakesh Shetty and Krupa Alwa in connection with the alleged sting operation targeting Mr. Siddaramaiah and claimed that it had been carried out at the behest of Mr. Shivakumar. These allegations are not independently verified.
On Sunday, Mr. Kumaraswamy had accused Mr. Shivakumar of holding a “lengthy, private meeting” with a person allegedly involved in “sting operations at a five-star hotel in Bengaluru. He had also claimed that the Chief Minister subsequently warned five Cabinet colleagues that they had been targeted by such operations.
Case booked
Meanwhile, the cybercrime police have registered a case in connection with the controversy. On Tuesday (October 13), Mr. Siddaramaiah secured an injunction from a Bengaluru court restraining media organisations and social media platforms from publishing or circulating unverified defamatory videos or content concerning him.
Senior police officials confirmed that a case had been registered but declined to share further details, citing the ongoing investigation. Mr. Kharge had also said on Wednesday (October 14) that he could not disclose details of the probe.
Mr. Kumaraswamy alleged that a JD(S) worker had been taken into custody without a case being registered in connection with the sting operation video. Mr. Kumaraswamy also alleged that the police had visited the residence of another JD(S) social media team member, Mohan, and “harassed and intimidated” his family members.
After meeting the police commissioner, Mr. Kumaraswamy questioned the silence of the Chief Minister on the matter. The Chief Minister declined to comment on the matter when he was asked about the JD(S) leader’s allegation when he was going to the Cabinet meeting in the State secretariat.
Published – October 15, 2026 01:41 pm IST
