The searches have been carried out following the recent questioning of Sriki and his associates by the CID officials on a fresh FIR.
Published Sep 13, 2023 | 8:00 AM ⚊ Updated Sep 13, 2023 | 10:25 AM
The CID officials conducted searches to collect documents pertaining to Sriki’s recent questioning sessions where his statements were recorded. (iStock)
The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) officials probing the Bitcoin scam conducted on Tuesday, 12 September, searches at the residences of the main accused Srikrishna Ramesh, alias Sriki, and two of his associates in Bengaluru after obtaining search warrants from a local court.
The CID officials conducted searches to collect documents pertaining to Sriki’s recent questioning sessions where his statements were recorded.
Police sources told South First that documents were seized by the officials from Srikri’s residence in Jayanagar and the residences of two of his associates — Sunish Hegde in Sanjaynagar and Prasidh Shetty in Sadashivanagar.
Soon after the Congress government came into power in Karnataka in May this year, the Bitcoin case was handed over to the CID to be reopened and re-investigated.
It was earlier probed by the Central Crime Branch (CCB) of the police.
The CCB had even submitted the charge sheet in the case during the earlier BJP regime in Karnataka.
The re-investigation into the scam was one of the poll promises of the Congress in the run-up to the Assembly elections.
The Congress government in Karnataka handed over the case to the CID to re-investigate as it strongly suspected that BJP politicians and several senior police officials were involved in the scam.
A Special Investigation Team (SIT) headed by CID ADGP Manish Kharbikar was tasked with the re-investigation of the case.
According to police sources, Srikrishna, who faced trial in the case, claimed he was threatened by police officers and some politicians who illegally transferred Bitcoin worth hundreds of crores to their beneficiaries’ bank accounts.
The CID officials registered a fresh FIR against suspected CCB officials who were probing the Bitcoin case earlier.
They also questioned all the CCB officials involved in the case for several rounds and recorded their statements.
The case was registered at the Cottonpet Police Station on 9 August.
The accused CCB investigating officials were booked for criminal conspiracy, destruction of evidence (planting and tampering with evidence), and criminal breach of trust, according to the FIR.
The CID officials, who knew that Sriki was out on bail on all the cases registered against him, traced him to Delhi, where he was said to be under treatment for some ailments.
The officials then brought Sriki back to the Bengaluru CID headquarters and questioned him for several rounds and his statements were recorded.
Sriki is said to have dropped the names of a few politicians and police officials — who were allegedly involved in the Bitcoin scam and benefited from it — during questioning.
The CID officials also questioned a few of his close associates, like Sunish Hegde and Prasidh Shetty, and recorded their statements as well.
Based on their statements, the officials obtained search warrants from a local court and conducted searches at the residences of the accused in Bengaluru, CID sources told South First.
According to police sources, this was the second time that Sriki’s residence was searched. The CCB had raided his house while they were probing the case.
In 2020, the Kempegowda Nagar police in Bengaluru registered a case under sections of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act of 1985 against Sriki and a few others.
The case pertained to the seizure of an overseas shipment that contained hydroponic ganja, allegedly purchased over the dark web using Bitcoin. The seizure was made by the CCB.
The CCB also arrested the courier’s recipient from Sadashivanagar in Bengaluru. Further probe led to the arrest of Sriki, a hacker, aged 25 at the time.
After his arrest, the CCB learnt that Sriki had also hacked the government’s e-governance portals and siphoned off crores of rupees.
It was then that the entire Bitcoin case was probed by the CCB, who also filed a charge sheet in the case.
After the Congress came to power in the state in May, the Cottonpet police registered a fresh FIR against the CCB investigating officers and others based on a complaint from Deputy Superintendent of Police CID K Ravishankar.
They were booked under Sections 204 (destruction of a document to prevent its production as evidence), 120-B (criminal conspiracy), 409 (criminal breach of trust), and 426 (punishment for mischief) of the Indian Penal Code.
The CCB officials were questioned and their statements were recorded. Later, the CID officials questioned Sriki and his associates and recorded their statements as well.
