Police search power tv channel that aired sting on ‘corruption’ by BSY family

Bengaluru Police began an investigation on Monday against officials of a private television channel that recently aired a sting alleging the involvement of members of Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa’s family in acts of corruption.

Police carried out searches at the offices of Power TV and the home of its managing director-editor Rakesh Shetty, and also questioned an anchor. The investigation was triggered by a complaint filed by the director of a construction firm who has been cited by the channel as a source of information on the alleged corruption involving the CM’s family. 

The channel has run a series of programmes over the last month using a sting audio of alleged conversations of Rakesh Shetty with an important member of the CM’s family, WhatsApp chats exchanged by a construction firm official with another member of the family, and documents showing large deposits in banks accounts of firms linked to a family member.

After the sting was aired, the opposition Congress demanded Yediyurappa’s resignation, and a probe into the allegations by a sitting judge of the Supreme Court or a Special Investigation Team (SIT) monitored by the Chief Justice of Karnataka High Court.