‘Voter bribery’ audio: His voice cloned, claims Arsikere MLA

Bengaluru: Congress MLA K M Shivalinge Gowda has gone to the police alleging that miscreants had his vocals cloned in a recent viral audio.

Vidhana Soudha police have registered a case on Sunday. 

The audio that went viral the past week featured a man alleged to be Gowda speaking about the distribution of money to influence the voters in Hassan during the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. 

In his complaint with the police, the MLA from Arsikere, Hassan district, alleged that the audio with his “cloned voice” was leaked to the media on October 17 by unknown miscreants. 

“This has hurt my reputation,” Gowda, 66, said as per the FIR. “The allegations are false and my voice has been cloned.” 

Based on Gowda’s complaint, the case was booked under sections 67 (publishing or transmitting obscene material in electronic form), 66C (identity theft) and 66D (cheating by personation by using computer resource) of the Information Technology (IT) Act and BNS sections 336 (forgery), 351 (criminal intimidation) and 353 (statements conducing to Public mischief).