‘Sting operation’: H.D. Kumaraswamy reaches Bengaluru Police Commissioner’s office, dares police to commence probe from him

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.