BJP tweets pic, links Siddaramaiah’s late son with Bitcoin case

The BJP on Thursday tweeted a picture of Leader of the Opposition Siddaramaiah’s deceased son Rakesh posing with two people allegedly linked to the Bitcoin case, to insinuate that the scandal happened when the Congress was in power.

The picture tweeted by the BJP shows Rakesh with Sunish Hegde and Hemanth Mudappa, who are said to have had links with hacker Srikrishna alias Sriki.

“Bitcoin hacker Sriki was friends with Hemanth Muddappa and Sunish Hegde. There are police documents to show they got Sriki to hack into a gaming site and e-portal. Look here, see for yourself who Sunish Hegde and Hemanth are with,” the BJP said, pointing at a group photograph in which Rakesh is seen.

Also Read | Zomato among sites targeted by Sriki: Charge sheet

Rakesh was 39 at the time of his death in Brussels, Belgium in 2016, when Siddaramaiah was chief minister.

“We believe you can identify everybody in this photo. And, if that belief is true, then the Bitcoin hacking business started under your tenure. Don’t you have clear information about this,” the BJP asked. “It was utterly inevitable for you to cover up this scam that happened in your time. The unpopular truth is that this photograph gives rise to a suspicion that people close to you were involved.”

Responding to this, Siddaramaiah called it the BJP’s “dirty agenda” to divert attention.

Also Read | Karnataka Bitcoin scam: Charge sheet reveals indiscriminate hacking by 'Sriki'

“It has been 5 years since my son left us, but our family is still grieving. It is unfortunate he will not be able to reply to the allegations on him,” Siddaramaiah said. “BJP is trying to get personal to pursue their dirty agenda in politics.”

The Congress leader also tweeted a photo showing Prime Minister Narendra Modi and fugitive diamond merchant Nirav Modi in a single frame. “BJP has alleged that my son Rakesh was seen with Srikrishna's friend Hemant Muddappa. Then how can we interpret the photo of Narendra Modi with Nirav Modi during the 2018 World Economic Forum,” he asked.

Also Read | Bitcoin scam: 76 lakh private keys, addresses found in Sriki's device

Siddaramaiah further charged that an “important BJP leader” received Bitcoins as quid-pro-quo for the release of Mudappa when he was arrested with Sriki. “BJP state president Nalin Kumar Kateel may know who that leader is,” he said.

Accusing the BJP of dragging Rakesh’s name to “hide their corruption”, Siddaramaiah urged Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai to order a judicial inquiry under the Supreme Court. He said the probe can cover his tenure as CM.

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