Pramesh S Jain
The alleged Bitcoin scam had become the subject of a major political confrontation between the Congress and the BJP,with serious allegations that senior police officers and influential politicians had benefited by using hacker Sriki.
In view of the controversy, the State Government had constituted a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe the Bitcoin-related cases.
During its investigation,the SIT found that while the Central Crime Branch (CCB) was probing separate cases against hacker Sriki during 2020-21,he was allegedly kept in illegal custody.
The investigation further revealed that Bitcoin worth Rs.1,83,624 was allegedly transferred from Sriki during that period.
Based on these findings,the SIT registered a separate case against the then CCB officers who had investigated Sriki.
The accused included DYSP Sreedhar K.Pujar and Police Inspectors D.M.Prashanth Babu,Lakshmikantaiah,and Chandradhara.All four officers were arrested during the course of the investigation.
The SIT also alleged that the accused officers had attempted to gain access to and transfer Bitcoin belonging to Sriki.
However, the Home Department has rejected the CID’s request for prosecution sanction against the officials.
The CID has completed the investigation in nine separate cases and submitted its reports before the competent courts.
However,in the absence of mandatory government sanction required to prosecute public servants,criminal proceedings against the accused officials cannot proceed.
