CCB officers who probed the scam have been booked for criminal conspiracy, destruction of evidence, and criminal breach of trust.
The Bitcoin case during BJP regime is being re-investigated by CID. (Sriki alias Srikrishna, hacker, and former CM Bommai)
The Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing the infamous multi-crore Bitcoin scam has filed a First Information Report (FIR) against the Central Crime Branch (CCB)’s officers who had earlier investigated the case.
The FIR accused the officers of planting and tampering with evidence. South First had reported on 8 July that the prime accused, Srikrishna Ramesh alias Sikri, and CCB sleuths were under the scanner.
Incidentally, the reinvestigation into the scam was one of the poll promises the Congress had made. “Now the Congress has returned to power in Karnataka and has set up a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe the case again,” Home Minister G Parameshwara earlier said.
The FIR was filed after Deputy Superintendent of Police (DySP) of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) K Ravishankar lodged a complaint with the Cottonpete police against the officers who had probed the case, Crime No 91/2020. Kempegowda Nagar police officers, too, were named in the complaint.
The CCB office falls under the jurisdiction of the Cottonpete police.
The case at the Kempegowda Nagar police station pertained to the seizure of an overseas shipment that contained hydroponic ganja, allegedly purchased over the darknet using Bitcoins. The seizure was made by the CCB.
The fresh FIR in the Bitcoin case. (Supplied)
A case under the NDPS Act was registered and the CCB arrested the courier’s recipient from Sadashivanagar in Bengaluru. Further probe led to the arrest of Sikri, a hacker who was aged 25 at the time of arrest. After his arrest, the CCB learnt that Sriki had even hacked into the government’s e-governance portals and siphoned off crores of rupees.
Based on the DySP’s complaint, the Cottonpete police registered an FIR against the CCB’s investigating officers and others. They were booked under IPC 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).
The FIR stated that the SIT that took charge of the case on 18 July received various electronic gadgets such as two MacBooks, pen drives, a hard disk, and documents that were under investigation. Complainant Ravishankar accused the CCB officers of planting evidence in the electronic gadgets in 2020.
Citing forensic reports dated 20 July, 2023, the SIT officer alleged that the “evidence” was planted at the CCB’s office in Chamarajpete and other places between 9 November, 2020, and 16 December, 2020, by the accused officers as part of a criminal conspiracy.
SIT sources told South First that the then-CCB investigating officers had planted the additional files as evidence to dilute the case and to protect the accused. Now, the CCB officers would have to give their statements and might face prosecution.
“DySP K Ravishankar came to Cottonpete police station, got the FIR registered and took with him the entire file. Since the CCB headquarters fall under our jurisdiction, and the alleged offence was said to be committed there, the FIR was registered. However, only the SIT will be probing the case,” a senior police officer attached to the Cottonpete station told South First.
In 2020, leaders of the Congress — which was then in the Opposition — smelt a rat when it came to light that even while Sriki was in police custody, he had access to a Bitcoin repository in Singapore. Transactions that took place then are in question.
The Congress leaders cried foul and alleged that transactions of up to ₹10,000 crore in Bitcoins involving Srikrishna may have taken place.
Fingers were pointed at several political leaders, and there were apparent attempts to close the case.
The then KPCC working president and former Karnataka home minister Ramalinga Reddy said: “We hear the Prime Minister’s Office has sought details of the Bitcoin case.”
Even Siddaramaiah weighed in. He tweeted: “There is information about the involvement of influential politicians of Karnataka in Drugs & Bitcoin scam. It is concerning that the investigating officers are trying to close the case to help those politicians. @BJP4India govt should not use their power to divert the investigation. They should ensure that the guilty is punished [sic].”
Siddaramaiah even tweeted that Sriki’s life would be at risk for known and several unknown reasons.
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