A mobile phone allegedly bought on the instructions of a Janata Dal (Secular) social media operative was taken to Union minister HD Kumaraswamy ’s official residence in New Delhi and handed to another aide, Bengaluru police commissioner Seemant Kumar Singh said on Sunday.
Police trace video’s movement from pen drive to YouTube
The phone is suspected to have been used to upload a video targeting former Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah . Police are examining the account of an arrested accused, Ritesh Pandey, to establish who arranged the purchase and how the device was used to circulate the footage. Police are examining CCTV footage from the shop, financial transactions between Pandey and Prasad, and other digital records to verify the account. Police have issued notices to Prasad and Sharma. “Crucial progress in this investigation can only take place once both individuals are secured and interrogated. The investigation is seeking to establish how the video moved from its original source to the people who uploaded and circulated it. Police have identified a mobile phone associated with the video’s upload to YouTube. The phone allegedly used to record the original footage is a separate device. Police have recovered it and sent it for forensic examination.
Pandey, a Delhi-based freelance social media content creator, was arrested on October 24 and subsequently granted conditional bail by a Bengaluru court.
The commissioner said all three were associated with the social media team operating from the minister’s office. Singh said neither had responded to the latest notices and that investigators had information they had sought anticipatory bail. “They have not replied to our notices, and according to our information, they have moved for anticipatory bail,” Singh said. Investigators said the footage was first transferred to Pandey on a pen drive and then moved to a handset for uploading.
