The Central Crime Branch officials recently arrested three people allegedly involved in creating a fake website of the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) to spread misinformation with communally inflammatory comments.
Based on a complaint by Shivanna, an executive committee member of the KPCC legal cell, CCB officials tracked down the creator of the website and carried out raids at Hassan and Bengaluru before arresting Dharnesh Jain, owner of Vet Fab Technologies Private Limited, his associate Siddarth, and Venkatesh who developed the website.
However the prime accused in this case identified as Shashank Bharadwaj, who paid ₹25,000 to the accused to develop the website is now on the run.
Efforts are on to track him down to ascertain the motive behind the creation of the website and on whose behest it was created, a police officer, part of the investigation, said.
The police also seized three mobile phones, one laptop, a credit card, and documents containing incriminating information during the raids.
However soon after the complaint, Shashank Bharadwaj got in touch with the accused asking them to delete the website and all evidence. The police have recovered the conversation records between him and the other accused.
