The Central Crime Branch (CCB) cybercrime police have registered a first information report (FIR) and detained two people for questioning over the alleged circulation of videos targeting former Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah.
Siddaramaiah, a Congress Working Committee member, alleged that videos were being circulated on social media as part of a conspiracy to damage his reputation. The police are tracing accounts suspected of sharing the material to establish its origin and identify those responsible.
The investigation follows a complaint Siddaramaiah submitted to Bengaluru police commissioner Seemant Kumar Singh. He provided details of specific social media accounts allegedly involved in circulating the content.
“The CCB began monitoring platforms and tracing internet protocol (IP) addresses. The two suspects are being questioned at an undisclosed location,” an officer briefed on the investigation said.
The police action coincides with a separate legal proceeding in which the 19th Additional City Civil and Sessions Court, presided over by judge B Pushpanjali, granted an interim injunction on Tuesday restraining 42 media organisations and digital platforms from publishing or circulating two videos allegedly linking Siddaramaiah to the controversy.
The court directed the concerned platforms to block access to the disputed material, including clips, screenshots, transcripts and edited versions. It said Siddaramaiah had disputed the authenticity and credibility of the videos, the intention behind their circulation and the propriety of publishing them without verification.
“The plaintiff has specifically disputed the authenticity, credibility, intention and the propriety of circulation without verification,” the court observed.
Meanwhile, Union minister and Janata Dal (Secular) leader H D Kumaraswamy has demanded a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into the controversy. He has alleged that chief minister D K Shivakumar used a sting operation to force Siddaramaiah to step down and facilitate a change in leadership in the Karnataka Congress. The allegations against Shivakumar have not been established.
Kumaraswamy has questioned the handling of the controversy and indicated that he intends to raise the matter with Union home minister Amit Shah. He has called for those responsible for the alleged operations to be identified.
Minister Yathindra Siddaramaiah, the former chief minister’s son, has dismissed the footage as fake and alleged a conspiracy to damage his father’s reputation. He said a complaint had been filed against those circulating the material.
“Someone appears to have been instigated to carry out a ‘sting operation’,” Yathindra said, alleging that the footage was being used to spread misinformation. He said the family was pursuing legal action against those sharing the material.
The Congress has rejected Kumaraswamy’s allegations against Shivakumar. Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) media and communication department chairman Ramesh Babu described the claims as politically motivated and baseless, arguing that they were intended to create confusion within the ruling party.
Leader of the Opposition (LoP) R Ashoka, meanwhile, said the Congress had betrayed Siddaramaiah and demanded an FIR over the alleged sting operation.
Siddaramaiah, in a statement on Tuesday, said that he had approached the court after noticing a campaign on social media linking him to the purported sting operation. He denied any connection with the video and alleged that some people were using it to spread defamatory information for political reasons.
“My conscience knows that I am completely innocent in this matter,” he said, expressing confidence that people in Karnataka, familiar with his five-decade-long political career, would understand his position.
He said modern technology had made it easier to portray falsehoods as facts and described his court petition as a precautionary measure to prevent the publication or broadcast of material referring to him.