Just hours ahead of the Maharashtra Assembly elections, Nationalist Congress Party (Sharadchandra Pawar) leader Supriya Sule on Tuesday filed a cyber fraud complaint with the Election Commission against former IPS officer Ravindranath Patil after he accused her of being involved in a cryptocurrency scam. He had also alleged State Congress President Nana Patole’s involvement in the alleged scam.
The Bharatiya Janata Party had also levelled scam allegations against Sule and Patole after the former IPS officer accused the MVA leaders of using misappropriated bitcoins from an alleged 2018 cryptocurrency fraud case to fund the ongoing Maharashtra polls. Patil had also hinted to assist with the probe. However, Sule denied the allegations calling them “false” and said that such information was being spread to manipulate voters before polling began.
“Familiar tactics of spreading false information to manipulate the righteous voters are being resorted to, a night before the polling day. We have filed a criminal complaint to the Hon’ble ECI & the Cyber crime department against the fake allegations made of bitcoin misappropriation. The intent and mala fide actors behind it are amply evident, condemn worthy that such practices are taking place in a healthy democracy guided by the Constitution of India,” she stated in a post on X.
Familiar tactics of spreading false information to manipulate the righteous voters are being resorted to, a night before the polling day. We have filed a criminal complaint to the Hon’ble ECI & the Cyber crime department against the fake allegations made of bitcoin… pic.twitter.com/g8Selv1DFk
— Supriya Sule (@supriya_sule) November 19, 2024
Here’s What Former IAS Patil Claimed
In a statement to ANI, Patil accused former Police Commissioner of Pune Amitabh Gupta and former Deputy Commissioner Bhagyashri Nautake, who were handling cyber crime investigations, in the alleged bitcoin misappropriation. He claimed that these funds were also utilised in the Lok Sabha elections in Maharashtra earlier this year.
“My company called me as a cryptocurrency expert to investigate a case in 2018. I was arrested in that case in 2022 under allegations of fraud. I spent 14 months in jail after a trial. During that time, I was wondering what had happened, what the case was and why was I trapped. There were other colleagues also with me. We were working on finding out the truth. A witness against us, Gaurav Mehta, who is an employee of an audit firm named Sarathi Associates. A day before yesterday, he called me multiple times for 4-5 hours, but I did not respond,” Patil told ANI.
“Finally, when I responded, he told me that in 2018, when Amit Bharadwaj was arrested, he had a cryptocurrency hardware wallet… That wallet was replaced by the then Commissioner Amitabh Gupta and another wallet was kept. We were arrested but the real perpetrators were Amitabh Gupta and his team. He (Gaurav Mehta) took the names of two IPS officers, Amitabh Gupta and Bhagyashri Nautake… This bitcoin money was used for funding in Maharashtra during the Lok Sabha elections,” he added.
#WATCH | Maharashtra: Ex-IPS officer from Pune, who was charge-sheeted by Pune Police in the alleged multi-crore crypto fraud, Ravindranath Patil alleges, “…My company called me as a cryptocurrency expert to investigate a case in 2018. I was arrested in that case in 2022 under… pic.twitter.com/Nql9Sun4Tz
— ANI (@ANI) November 19, 2024
Patil further claimed that he had received some voice recordings from Mehta, three of which three belonged to Supriya Sule, who he said was asking Mehta to not worry about inquiry.
“He (Gaurav Mehta) took two names, Supriya Sule and Nana Patole… He further said that in the Maharashtra Assembly elections too, the same bitcoin money is being used. On the direction of Amitabh Gupta, he (Gaurav Mehta) went to Dubai multiple times and converted the bitcoin into cash. And that cash is being used in Maharashtra elections… He (Gaurav Mehta) sent me some voice notes he had received on WhatsApp. There were 3 audio messages from Supriya Sule where she asks for cash in exchange for bitcoins. She also says that he (Gaurav Mehta) does not need to worry about inquiry, they will handle it when they come to power,” Patil said.
#WATCH | Maharashtra: Making allegations against Supriya Sule and Nana Patole, Ex-IPS officer from Pune, Ravindranath Patil says, “… He (Gaurav Mehta) took two names, Supriya Sule and Nana Patole… He further said that in the Maharashtra Assembly elections too, the same… https://t.co/Of1VLiLbaT pic.twitter.com/4g5kFLJBdB
— ANI (@ANI) November 19, 2024
Ravindranath Patil was charge-sheeted by Pune Police in the alleged multi-crore crypto fraud, in 2018. He claims to have received this information and proofs from a whistle-blower involved in the 2018 cryptocurrency fraud case.