BENGALURU: Reports of the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) and C-DAC (Centre for Development of Advanced Computing) received by the CID’s Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing the Bitcoin scam, disclosed that police inspector Prashanth Babu DM had tampered with electronic data.
Babu, who was in charge of the Technical Support Centre of the Central Crime Branch (CCB), Bengaluru, had tampered with data and caused the disappearance of vital evidence by creating extra files, after electronic devices such as MacBooks, laptops and others seized from the accused were brought for mirror imaging by the investigation officer, from court custody.
The CID had disclosed this in its statement of objections filed before Yashwanth Kumar, LI Additional City Civil and Sessions Judge, against the anticipatory bail petition filed by Prashanth Babu in a crime registered by CID with Cottonpet police, based on the FSL report. It disclosed that electronic devices such as laptops, MacBooks, mobile phones, pen drives, hard discs and cryptocurrency wallets seized in a crime registered with KG Nagar police in 2020, were tampered with.
The CID stated that Babu had expertise in handling digital devices and technical evidence. Investigating Officer Shridhar Poojar, after securing a MacBook and other electronic devices with permission from court, had forwarded them to the support centre on November 21, 2020, for mirror imaging, and received them on December 11, 2020.
Without following due process of law, Babu, with the help of a private person, secured a Black lite tool from the FSL, and conducted mirror imaging unauthorisedly. Poojar exerted undue pressure on the private person to copy and transfer several files, including a cryptocurrency wallet, to external computers, the CID stated.
“MacBook and laptops were in constant use in the TSC under Babu since November 17, 2020, which established the fact that Babu, in collusion with Poojar, had illegally operated the devices without the permission of court, and transferred data from the original seized devices which is court property, to their personal computers, tampered with evidence and caused data loss,” the SIT told court.
It further stated that the C-DAC analysis report of mirror images disclosed that the devices were tampered with by Babu, and the hard disc was connected three times to the seized MacBook and laptop. The seized devices were found to have broken seals without court permission, the SIT said. The court refused to grant anticipatory bail to Babu recently, observing that it has to consider the case of a police officer and investigation officer involved in the commission of offence, on a different pedestal.