'Ready to sacrifice anyone involved in Bitcoin scam but name the influential persons'
Bommai challenges Congress
Bengaluru (PTI): Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Sunday asserted that his government is 'ready to sacrifice anyone involved' in the Bitcoin scam and challenged the Congress to name the "influential people" it has alleged are behind the irregularities.
"The Congress says there are some influential people involved in it (Bitcoin scam). If you know them, then name them. We will investigate it without any second thought. If there is anyone involved in the country or in the state, we will initiate action mercilessly," Bommai told reporters on the sidelines of an event here.
The Chief Minister was reacting to a query on Congress national general secretary Randeep Singh Surjewala's allegations.
"We are the ones who brought out this scam. We will not spare anyone and are ready to sacrifice anyone involved in it. There is no question of any second thought on our decision.
To hide the role of Congress, you are naming persons who are nowhere in the picture," he charged.
Surjewala had alleged in a press conference in Delhi on Saturday that the size of the scam could be much bigger because just on two days on December 1, 2020 and April 14, 2021 illegal transactions worth Rs 5,240 crore took place.
The Congress leader had also posed a series of questions to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and asked what was the role of Karnataka Chief Minister Basaravaj Bommai, who was the state's home minister when the scam took place.
Surjewala also demanded to know why international investigation agencies, including the Interpol, were not informed about the stolen Bitcoins.
Lashing out at the Congress leader, Bommai said the BJP government had held the hacker Srikrishna alias Sriki, investigated him and exposed him unlike the Congress, who released him when they were in power in 2018
Challenging Surjewala to provide whatever information he has to the Enforcement Directorate or the Karnataka police, Bommai said action would be taken immediately.
The Chief Minister also sought to know why the Congress government in Karnataka between 2013 and 2019 did not probe the matter when the scam started in 2016.
"If there was a Karnataka connection to it, then why did you not probe it when you were in the government? Surjewala should question the then Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and ministers why their did not heed to it," Bommai charged.
He further said that Srikrishna was held for the first time in 2018, but was let go. If the police had then probed his background, they would have come to know everything about him.
"You could have done it in 2018. Why was it not done? You released him and allowed the problem to grow big," Bommai alleged.
The Chief Minister said the hacker was arrested in a drug case in 2020 and a detailed interrogation revealed his role in hacking Bitcoin portals.
Bommai also hit out at Surjewala for relying on a Twitter handle to claim that transactions worth Rs 5,240 crore took place.
"His allegations are based on something appeared on a Twitter handle. If you rely on a Twitter handle to level allegations, then it shows your mental bankruptcy. Anyone can say anything on Twitter," he alleged.
The Chief Minister said Surjewala should have spoken keeping the circumstantial evidence and witnesses with him, instead of basing his charges on tweets.
"If you rely on tweets on a Twitter handle and say that frauds to the tune of crores of Rupees has taken place, then I would clearly say that this does not suit the spokesperson of a national party," Bommai charged.
He asserted that his government is untouched by this scandal because they were the ones who arrested the hacker, investigated the scam, exposed it and referred the matter to the ED, the CBI and Interpol.
Bommai added that his government is also providing all kinds of help to the ED and the CBI.
To a query on the number of Bitcoins held by Srikrishna, Bommai said the hacker had shown an exchange account as his, though no individual can have the exchange account.
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Kho Kho World Cup: Indian women's team crowned champion
New Delhi: The Indian women's team emerged champion in the inaugural Kho Kho World Cup with a dominant 78-40 victory in the summit clash against Nepal here on Sunday.
On a memorable night at the Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium here, India produced a masterclass of speed, strategy and skill, dishing out a clinical show.
A brisk start marked Turn 1 as the Indian attackers took charge of the proceedings. Three batches in the Nepal women were out by simple touches on 7 occasions, putting 14 points to India's kitty.
Skipper Priyanka Ingle was in the best form with multiple touch points to her name, as the hosts started off in an excellent manner. This was enough to take the Women in Blue to 34 points and preventing a single Dream Run for the Nepal team.
Manmati Dhami got Vaishnavi Pawar, and B Samjhana eliminated Priyanka Ingle but B Chaithra took India's first batch of Turn 2 into the Dream Run.
๐ธ ๐๐ข๐ฌ๐ญ๐จ๐ซ๐ฒ ๐ฆ๐๐๐ ๐ฎ๐ณ๐
— Kho Kho World Cup India 2025 (@Kkwcindia) January 19, 2025
Congratulations to #TeamIndia women for claiming the ๐๐ข๐ซ๐ฌ๐ญ-๐๐ฏ๐๐ซ ๐๐ก๐จ ๐๐ก๐จ ๐๐จ๐ซ๐ฅ๐ ๐๐ฎ๐ฉ ๐#KhoKhoWorldCup #KKWC2025 #TheWorldGoesKho #Khommunity #KhoKho #KKWCWomen pic.twitter.com/tqlBPbTIdc
It wasn't for long, though, as Dipa completed the ALL OUT just moments later. This got the side back into the game but they only managed to score 24 points at the end of Turn 2, with an 11-point deficit at half time.
India were once again the dominant force in Turn 3, never allowing the Nepal defenders to settle in their stride. BK Dipa was a regular for Nepal but it went in vain throughout, ensuring that the Indians edged closer to the trophy.
Chaithra was the orchestrator of the Dream Run for India, taking the score to a massive 78 points in Turn 4. Their batch went on for a massive 5 minutes and 14 seconds, closing out the game for India and confirming them as the first-ever champions of the Kho Kho World Cup.
India's path to glory had included commanding victories over South Korea, Iran and Malaysia in the group stages, followed by triumph against Bangladesh in the quarter-finals and a masterful win over South Africa in the semi-finals.
๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐||
— All India Radio News (@airnewsalerts) January 19, 2025
Indian๐ฎ๐ณ Women's Team beats Nepal 78-40; Clinches the inaugural #KhoKhoWorldCup Trophy. #Finals | #KhoKhoWorldCup | #TheWorldGoesKho | #BharatvsNepal | @Kkwcindia | @Media_SAI | @YASMinistry | pic.twitter.com/mh8NJuD6RX
