The 66th City Civil Court in Bengaluru has granted interim conditional anticipatory bail to Rakesh Shetty, the head of the private news channel Power, in a case registered following a complaint by former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah regarding a sting operation. The court ordered the release of Shetty after police completed their interrogation, with the interim bail valid until the final decision on his anticipatory bail application.
The court imposed specific conditions for the interim bail, requiring Shetty to furnish a personal bond of ₹1 lakh, cooperate with the investigation, refrain from tampering with evidence, and surrender to the investigating officers if his anticipatory bail application is dismissed. The case was registered on August 6 at the City Central Cyber Crime Police Station based on Siddaramaiah’s complaint, which alleged that on September 27, unidentified individuals broadcast a secretly recorded video on a YouTube channel containing defamatory accusations and using malicious, fake identities to harm his public reputation and life.
Following the complaint, cyber crime police interrogated more than 25 individuals. Rakesh Shetty was taken into custody in Mysuru on Wednesday, brought to Bengaluru for questioning, and subsequently released. Facing the threat of arrest, he approached the court for anticipatory bail. Central Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy had previously filed a complaint with City Police Commissioner Seemant Kumar Singh and State Police Director General M.A. Saleem, demanding the arrest of Shetty, the main accused in the sting operation case, and had also led a protest with party workers and leaders.
