Bengaluru: The Karnataka unit of the Congress which first raised the Bitcoin scam in order to embarrass Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai and the BJP, the party found itself in a tight corner when the charge sheet in the scam revealed links between hacker Ramesh Srikrishna alias Sriki and Congress MLA's son Mohammed Nalapad.
Robin Khandelwal, a partner in escapades with Sriki, says that the Nalapad brothers are associated with Sriki.
It is this revelation that gave confidence to Bommai to lock horns with the Congress. “We were the ones who caught him and investigated the case. We were the ones who referred the case to ED, CBI and Interpol. We were the ones taking it seriously. Whoever it is, we will initiate action. They (Congress) are simply saying two people are behind this. Reveal the names, we will take action,” the CM had said.
According to India Today, in the charge sheet filed before the first additional chief metropolitan magistrate court, Khandelwal plays an important role in the Bitcoin transaction process. Sriki would transfer Bitcoins he acquired after hacking to Robin who would then convert the Bitcoins into cash, keep his commission and then transfer the money to various other client accounts.
The charge sheet says that it was Robin who introduced Sriki to Akeeb, Sonu, Soumya, Mohammed Nalapad (son of Shantinagar Congress MLA NA Haris) and Nafi Mohammed Nasser.
Nasser, a close associate of Nalapad, is shown receiving over Rs 26 lakh. According to sources, Nafi is not a businessman but works for Nalapad.
However, Nalapad told India Today that nowhere on the charge sheet is it mentioned that "we have done a crime. Also, knowing someone is not a crime."
