Karnataka Bitcoin Case: 4 Cops Dropped From Chargesheet After Karnataka Govt Denies Nod
Karnataka Bitcoin Case: 4 Cops Dropped From Chargesheet After Karnataka Govt Denies Nod Reported By, Edited By Last Updated: July 10, 2026, 11:14 IST Under
Karnataka Bitcoin Case: 4 Cops Dropped From Chargesheet After Karnataka Govt Denies Nod Reported By, Edited By Last Updated: July 10, 2026, 11:14 IST Under Section 197 of CrPC, prosecution sanction from the competent authority is mandatory before prosecuting a public servant for acts committed during discharge of official duties Rapid Read The alleged Bitcoin scam triggered a major political controversy in Karnataka, with the Congress and BJP accusing each other of protecting influential politicians and senior police officers. Four police officers, including a deputy superintendent of police (DySP), have been dropped from the chargesheet in the Karnataka Bitcoin illegal transfer case after the home department refused to grant prosecution sanction against them. The CID Special Investigation Team (SIT), which investigated the alleged illegal detention of notorious hacker Srikrishna alias Sriki and the attempted transfer of his Bitcoins, has filed a chargesheet before the 1st ACMM Court against cyber expert KS Santosh Kumar and others. However, DySP Sridhar K Poojar and police inspectors DM Prashanth Babu, Laxmekanthiah and Chandradhar, who were earlier arrested and jailed in the case, have not been chargesheeted.
According to an investigating officer, the probe found that the four police officers, along with cyber expert Santosh Kumar, had allegedly attempted to transfer Bitcoins belonging to hacker Sriki. However, since the home department rejected the request for prosecution sanction, the investigating agency has been unable to proceed against them and consequently dropped their names from the chargesheet. Prosecution Sanction Denied Under Section 197 of the CrPC, prosecution sanction from the competent authority is mandatory before prosecuting a public servant for acts committed during the discharge of official duties. In addition, prior sanction under Section 19 of the Prevention of Corruption Act is required before a court can take cognisance of offences against government officials. Since the accused were police officers, sanction under the Karnataka Police Act was also required. Sources said the investigating agency had sought three separate prosecution sanctions from the home department which were rejected, resulting in the four officers being excluded from the chargesheet. Chargesheet Against Cyber Expert The chargesheet has been filed against the first accused, cyber expert and GCID Technologies owner KS Santosh Kumar.
The SIT has alleged that Santosh Kumar misused the cryptocurrency wallets of hacker Sriki and Robin Khandelwal and illegally transferred Bitcoins worth several lakhs of rupees from Khandelwal’s wallet. Investigators have also cited evidence of fraud, falsification of records and other irregularities, which have been included in the chargesheet. The alleged Bitcoin scam triggered a major political controversy in Karnataka, with the Congress and BJP accusing each other of protecting influential politicians and senior police officers who allegedly benefited from hacker Sriki’s activities. The state government subsequently constituted an SIT to investigate multiple Bitcoin-related cases. The SIT found that during the CCB’s investigation into separate cases involving Sriki between 2020 and 2021, he was allegedly kept in illegal custody and Bitcoins worth Rs 1.83 lakh were transferred from his wallet. Based on these findings, a separate FIR was registered against then CCB DySP Poojar and three police inspectors. All four officers were arrested during the investigation. Nine Bitcoin-Related Cases Completed The SIT has completed investigations into nine separate Bitcoin-related cases, including those registered by the CID and Cottonpet police, and has submitted its reports before the court.
The BriefWire