HD Kumaraswamy accused police of targeting innocent party workers.Former Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah. Bengaluru police on Thursday said their investigation into an alleged sting video targeting former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah had found that the sexual abuse accusation shown in the recording was based on a narrative that had been intentionally fabricated.Police said the statements and material gathered so far did not support claims that any such incident had taken place.
The inquiry is continuing, while several people, including members of the JD(S) social media team, have been arrested in connection with the case.According to a police statement, the evidence collected at this stage prima facie suggested that the sexual abuse claims presented in the video had been deliberately invented and assembled.Police said they had identified and extensively questioned everyone seen in the recording, with some individuals examined more than once. Their accounts and the evidence gathered prima facie showed that the allegations made or suggested against people named in the video were untrue and concocted, the statement added.
The purported sting video was uploaded to a social media platform, following which Siddaramaiah secured a court injunction restraining its airing, transmission and publication. He also filed a police complaint over the matter.Siddaramaiah accused Kripa Alva, who was seeking a Congress ticket from Puttur in Dakshina Kannada, of being behind the alleged operation.
His son and Minister Yathindra Siddaramaiah, however, alleged that some Congress leaders were involved. Union Minister and JD(S) second-in-command HD Kumaraswamy accused the police of implicating innocent party workers while allowing those who had allegedly masterminded the operation to go free.
Police maintained that the available evidence did not substantiate the sexual abuse allegation and said further investigation was under way.- EndsAdditional inputs from