After six months of investigation into the Bitcoin scam, finally, the Special Investigation Team (SIT) of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) has arrested two persons, including a Police Inspector (PI). The SIT has also booked three other inspectors who served in the Central Crime Branch (CCB).
The arrested have been identified as Prashanth Babu, PI, Technical Support Centre, Adugodi and Santosh Kumar K.S., Chief Executive Officer (CEO), GCID Technologies Private Limited, HSR Layout. Santosh is cybercrime expert.
The SIT on Wednesday, January 24, registered a First Information Report (FIR) charging five persons under Sections 343, 344, 409, 426, 34, 36, 37, 201 and 204 of the IPC 1860 and Sections 66 and 84 C of the Information Technology Act 2000. The three others who were booked are identified as Lakshmikanthaiah, the then inspector, CCB, Chandradhar, the then inspector, CCB and Shridhar K Pujar, the then inspector from CCB.
It is alleged that Prashanth Babu, who was roped in by the CCB to assist the investigation officers in multiple cases, introduced the inspectors to Kumar. The accused Kumar accessed the crypto wallets of Robin Khandelwal, one of the accused, and allegedly transferred a fraction of Bitcoin worth ₹1,83,000. The staff working in GCID on the instruction of Babu and Kumar changed the password of the crypto wallets of accused hacker Srikrishna Ramesh aka Sriki and Khandelwal, besides changing passwords of email IDs and bank accounts. The accused Babu made unauthorised purchase of a laptop which was then used by Sriki for hacking, sources said.
