The scam dates back to November 2020 when a city-based techie Sri Krishna was held along with his friend Robin Khandelwal for hacking the e-procurement portal A year-old case related to hacking cryptocurrency exchanges, online poker websites and the state government’s e-procurement portal has come back to bite the BJP government with the Opposition waiting for answers to its questions that boxed chief minister Basavaraj Bommai in a tight corner.
While only the hacking of the state e-procurement portal that allegedly compromised bid processes supposed to be held in total secrecy is directly related to Karnataka, the rest of the digital exploits of the hacker and his friends span several locations from The Netherlands to some global tax havens.
The ‘Bitcoin scam’ dates back to November 2020 when a city-based techie Sri Krishna, now 26, was arrested along with his friend Robin Khandelwal for hacking the e-procurement portal.
His subsequent confessions about hacking cryptocurrency exchanges and online gaming sites led to four more cases in which he was arrested. He was released on bail in April 2021 after spending some 100 days in custody.
Congress lawmaker and former IT minister Priyank Kharge took the lead in seeking a detailed investigation in the matter alleging serious discrepancies in the investigation.
“The police have contradicted themselves by first saying in January that Bitcoins worth Rs 9 crore were seized from the accused and now saying they have not recovered any,” Kharge told The Telegraph on Monday.
“It looks like the case is being botched up and the investigation is not headed to uncover, but to cover up the truth. Suddenly there seems to be no crime at all,” he said, urging Bommai to explain since he was home minister when the alleged crime unfolded. “The government must explain why the case was not referred to the ED, CBI, or Interpol soon after the arrest,” he said. “It was the ED that took the initiative to seek details of the case based on media reports in February. The police replied the following month, while the commissioner of police then wrote to the Interpol liaison officer in April. All […]
Click here to view original web page at www.telegraphindia.com
