Representative image. N. Vivekananthamoorthy, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
Why it matters
The case involves a former chief minister and has opened a public dispute inside Karnataka's ruling Congress as well as with the opposition JD(S). How police trace the video's origin will decide whether anyone faces charges, and a court order already limits what can be published about it.
The Siddaramaiah sting video case has its first arrest. Bengaluru police’s Central Crime Branch (CCB), the city’s specialised investigation wing, picked up a Delhi man, identified by police as Ritesh Pandey, and brought him to Bengaluru for questioning on Saturday, 24 October 2026. He was produced before a metropolitan magistrate, who granted him bail on the condition that he cooperates with the investigation, officials told the news agency Press Trust of India (PTI).
The video at the centre of the case is a purported hidden-camera recording that former Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah says was made to blackmail him and damage his reputation. A Bengaluru court has barred its broadcast and publication, so this article does not describe what it contains.
What police say about the first arrest
Investigators are examining Pandey’s alleged links to a second-hand mobile phone that they suspect was used to upload the footage, according to officials quoted by PTI. They are also following its digital trail to find out who uploaded the video, how it spread on social media and who recorded it in the first place.
Pandey is an accused, not a convict. Police have not filed a charge sheet, the formal list of charges that goes to court, and have not said publicly what role, if any, they believe others played. Reports citing unnamed police sources about what he told investigators are not included here.
Karnataka Home Minister Priyank Kharge said on 24 October that notices had been sent to several people suspected of uploading or sharing the clip, and that some of them could not be traced after the notices went out, The News Minute and PTI reported. “We will trace it from the source and expose it in a few days,” he told reporters, according to The Hindu. He said a charge sheet would have to be filed and placed before the court.
How the sting operation case began: a timeline
The row has built up over four weeks, inside a government that changed leaders this year. D K Shivakumar replaced Siddaramaiah as chief minister in early June 2026, and the Congress still runs the state. These are the key dates on record, put together by NewsPlainly from the FIR as quoted by the Indian Express and from PTI and The News Minute reports.
| Date (2026) | What happened |
|---|---|
| 27 September | The video is posted on a newly created YouTube channel called “Karnataka Honey Trap”, according to the FIR (first information report, the document that starts a police case). |
| 6 October | Siddaramaiah files a complaint with the Bengaluru cyber crime police station. The FIR names the channel’s unidentified creators as accused. |
| 13 October | A Bengaluru court grants a temporary injunction stopping media outlets and platforms from broadcasting or publishing the video. |
| 15 and 17 October | Union Minister H D Kumaraswamy of the Janata Dal (Secular), or JD(S), holds a sit-in at the police commissioner’s office, then leads a march to the state police chief’s office. |
| 23 October | Siddaramaiah calls the sting “totally concocted”; his son, minister Yathindra Siddaramaiah, alleges that some Congress members were involved. |
| 24 October | The CCB arrests Ritesh Pandey in Delhi; a magistrate grants him conditional bail. |
On these dates, the first arrest came 27 days after the video was posted. When the recording was made is itself disputed. The News Minute and the Indian Express reported that it was filmed in 2023. Kharge noted that some people have said it dates to 2011 and others to 2023, before it surfaced online in 2026.
What Siddaramaiah and the Congress have said
Siddaramaiah has denied the allegations made in the video and has asked for a fair probe. In his plea to the court, quoted by the Indian Express, he said the timing, the questioning, the hidden-camera style and a “politically loaded caption” showed a design to hurt his reputation and standing. Asked about support offered by Kumaraswamy, he said on 23 October: “No one is standing for anyone. There is no need for anyone to stand up for me,” and added that the people of the state should know the truth.
His son Yathindra, the urban development minister, has gone further and pointed at his own party. He alleged that a woman Congress worker who wanted a ticket for the Puttur seat in 2023, and the head of a media organisation, appear to be involved, PTI reported. The Indian Express reported that Power TV managing director Rakesh Shetty, whom police had summoned, has interim bail from a Bengaluru court.
Kharge said the material already showed who was involved and described the case as one of extortion and blackmail. Chief Minister Shivakumar, separately, told a Kannada channel that a businessman wearing Meta smart glasses had met him under circumstances he found suspicious, and said he had warned his cabinet colleagues about possible sting attempts, the Hindustan Times reported.
What the JD(S) and Kumaraswamy have said
The JD(S), an ally of the BJP and in opposition in Karnataka, has asked for an impartial investigation into how the video was recorded and circulated, and has alleged that it was manipulated and used for political purposes, The News Minute reported.
Kumaraswamy has accused the state government of going after JD(S) workers instead of the people behind the recording. He said police began investigating two workers of the party’s social media unit after Siddaramaiah’s complaint, and warned of protests if they were arrested, according to the Indian Express. On 17 October he submitted a memorandum, signed by all JD(S) MLAs, to Director General of Police M A Saleem, seeking a special investigation team (SIT), PTI reported. He has also called Shivakumar the “king of stings” in Karnataka, the Indian Express reported.
What happens next in the Siddaramaiah sting video probe
In the sting operation case, Pandey remains on bail, and the condition that he cooperate means he can be called back for questioning. Police are still tracing who recorded the video and who first sent it out, and Kharge has said the findings will be shared “at the appropriate time”. The court’s injunction on publishing the video stays in place.
Kharge has said the police investigation will be completed without political pressure and its findings placed before the court. For now, the record in the sting operation case is one arrest, one conditional bail order and an investigation that both Siddaramaiah and Kumaraswamy say should be fair.
Frequently asked questions
Who was arrested in the Siddaramaiah sting video case?
Bengaluru's Central Crime Branch arrested Ritesh Pandey, a Delhi resident, on 24 October 2026. It is the first arrest in the case. He was granted bail on condition that he cooperates.
Why is the sting video not shown or described?
A Bengaluru court granted a temporary injunction on 13 October 2026 that stops media outlets and platforms from broadcasting or publishing the video.
What has the JD(S) said?
The JD(S) has sought an impartial probe and alleged the video was manipulated for political use. Its leader H D Kumaraswamy has accused police of targeting party social media workers.