Bitcoin case: Karnataka government will not compromise on probe, says CM Bommai

Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Friday said everybody involved in the Bitcoin-and-drugs case will be brought to justice, refuting the Congress’ claim that the government was trying to hush it up to ‘protect’ influential people.

In his first detailed statement on the case that has gained much traction in the past couple of days, Bommai told reporters that the prime accused, hacker Srikrishna Ramesh alias Sriki, was allowed to go scot-free in February 2018 when he was named in an FIR of an brawl case. This is the infamous Farzi Cafe case when the Siddaramaiah-led Congress was in power.

"Five or six people were arrested, but he was not," Bommai said, adding that it was the BJP government that arrested him. “[Congress] let him go. We [BJP] caught him. If only he was caught in 2018, his misdeeds could have been discovered then itself,” Bommai said.

Sriki was caught in 2020 while importing drugs on the darknet as part of the government’s ‘war on drugs’ when Bommai was the home minister.

Read | Bitcoin scam: K'taka CM says case with ED, HM says CID

"Several influential people were named in the FIR and they were arrested also, both in 2018 (assault case) and 2020 (drugs). Only during the inquiry conducted after his arrest in 2020 was it revealed that [Sriki] was a hacker and had hacked into several sites," he said.

As a result, three separate cases were filed against him. Inquiry is complete in all three cases and chargesheets also filed, the CM said.

"Not only was he chargesheeted, as soon as we got to know about his accounts in foreign countries, we referred the case to ED on March 3, 2021," he said. Another case of hacking involving multiple nations was referred to the Interpol branch of CBI with all the required details on April 28, 2021.

Bommai was responding to Leader of the Opposition Siddaramaiah’s charge that the government was out to cover up the case. “This allegation is part of the narrative being set by them in the face of imminent defeat in the bypolls,” he said.

"The BJP government has a clear stance of 'no compromise and zero tolerance on this issue. That is why we pursued the case. Or else, we would have let him go like the previous government,” he said.

He further asked Siddaramaiah to furnish evidence for his claims. “He has tweeted vaguely, alleging that politicians and officials were involved and attempts are being made to bury the case. I agree that there should be a comprehensive probe. That’s why we’ve referred the cases to the central agencies. He should speak with some evidence about who was involved. He cannot repeat a lie, blaming it on others. If he comes with evidence, we will probe," he said.

Due to the efforts of the state government, central agencies are now probing the case, Bommai added.

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