BENGALURU: The state government has issued orders to form a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe the multi-crore Bitcoin scam, which had rocked the previous BJP government over allegations that some of its ministers and senior police officers were involved in the case.
Congress, which was then in opposition, had said it would order probes into all scandals, including the Bitcoin scam, that occurred during the BJP rule if voted to power.
The SIT will come under the Criminal Investigation Department (CID), the state’s premier investigation agency. The government’s move is seen as the first step in ordering reinvestigation into several cases that put the previous government in a tight spot.
SIT asks CCB to transfer Bitcoin scam case files
The cases include the Chamarajanagar District Hospital tragedy in which 36 patients died due to lack of oxygen during the peak of Covid pandemic. Citing the case registered at the Cottonpet police station in Bengaluru, the Home Department, in its order dated June 30, said there is a need to constitute an SIT to probe the case, as there are possibilities of involvement of national and international networks in the case. Further, the order stated that as the accused are experts in cyber matters and have traded Bitcoins and have done transactions through Darknet, the matter needs a more comprehensive and detailed probe. Meanwhile, the SIT is also directed to investigate similar cases registered in the state.
While the investigation will be supervised by the Director General of Police of the CID, the Additional Director General of Police of the Economic Offences wing of the CID, Manish Kharbikar, is named as the SIT chief. CID DIG Dr K Vamsi Krishna, DCP (Administration) of Bengaluru city Anoop A Shetty and CID SP Sharath are the core members of the team. It is learnt that the SIT has already asked the Central Crime Branch (CCB) of Bengaluru city, which had investigated the case earlier, to transfer the case files.
Home Minister Dr G Parameshwara told reporters that as there are allegations that the case was not investigated impartially when BJP was in power, the SIT has been formed for a thorough probe. “The allegation is that lakhs of crores of rupees have been virtually transferred. The government will support the SIT by issuing relevant orders if it requires any technical assistance from other agencies,” he said.