BENGALURU: Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Friday hit out at Congress leaders for accusing the government of protecting those involved in the bitcoin case. He accused the Congress of failing to take action when the accused, Srikrishna, was named in a case related to a pub brawl in Bengaluru in February 2018. A Congress MLA’s son and his associates were arrested in the case.
“Srikrishna was named as accused in a case registered at Cubbon Park police station in February 2018. Though the other accused were arrested, he was allowed to get anticipatory bail. If he was arrested and investigated, his other activities would have come to light. Why did they let him go?” the CM questioned. Srikrishna was arrested for procuring drugs through the dark web in 2020, and the probe revealed that he was a hacker. Three cases were registered and chargesheets filed.
“The probe in the money laundering case is complete and we are waiting for the forensic report. As the accounts are in foreign countries, we referred the case to the Enforcement Directorate on March 3, and to CBI’s Interpol Branch on April 28, 2021,” the CM said.