A conspiracy to create political instability by a TV channel through a sting operation of Uttarakhand Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat and one senior bureaucrat has triggered shock waves in the hill state.

The Uttarakhand Police arrested Umesh Kumar, CEO and Editor-in-Chief of Samachar Plus, from Noida on Sunday on charges of extortion and blackmailing.

Kumar was produced before the Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate Reenki Sahani in Dehradun on Monday and send to 10 days judicial remand.

Ayush Gaud, a member of the sting operation team, who filed a complaint with the Dehradun police charging Umesh of using videos for blackmailing leaders, conducted a press conference in the state capital.

“I have conducted 150-200 sting operations. We have conducted sting of many close people of the CM. I was forced to file a police complaint after I failed to get any response of my complaints sent to Prime Minister and Chief Minister,” Gaud said.

As Kumar was close to many political leaders, it is assumed that some may have backed him for conducting the special operation. Many close friends of the news channel CEO are on the radar of the police.

It is not the first time that Kumar was on the target of the state government. Even in the past Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank and Harish Rawat had questioned the financial growth of Kumar in small time.

In 2016, Kumar created headlines by conducting a sting operation of the then Uttarakhand Chief Minister Harish Rawat.

From a small time property dealer to a big businessman, Kumar made it big in a small span of time after starting operation in Uttarakhand.

From accusations of threatening people for grabbing property to pressurising leaders for getting his work done, the news channel owner has constantly remained in the limelight for the wrong reasons.

Very recently when the controversy between Mohammed Shami and his wife Hasin Jahan took place, people were surprised to find the cricketer moving with Kumar. Few months back the entire cabinet of Trivendra Rawat government and most of the bureaucrats attended a family function of Kumar in Dehradun.

Kumar was arrested on allegations of conducting sting operation by deliberately creating scenes to cause damage to Uttarakhand Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat and senior bureaucrat Om Prakash. The cops have named Praveen Sahani, Saurav Sahani, Rahul Bhatia and former Vice Chancellor of Uttarakhand Ayurveda University Mritunjay Mishra as co-accused in the complain.

Though the police usually keep the First Information Report (FIR) secret within hours of arrest, the copy of the FIR was shared on various social media sites. The copy was circulated via WhatsApp and Facebook which indicates that it may be leaked deliberately by the police.