Govt to probe all ‘scams’ by done by BJP: Siddaramaiah

Karnataka government said it would probe into all the major scandals that took place during the previous BJP government

Chief minister Siddaramaiah on Tuesday said the government will order comprehensive investigations into the major scandals that took place during the previous BJP administration’s four-year tenure.

Karnataka government to probe into all the major scandals that took place during the previous BJP government. (PTI)

Addressing media personnel in Hassan, Siddaramaiah said, allegations of a 40% commission on government contracts, irregularities surrounding the recruitment of police sub-inspectors (PSIs), the BitCoin scandal, malpractices in the construction of four medical colleges and irrigation projects, and irregularities in medical procurements during the Covid pandemic will be probed.

Siddaramaiah emphasised the need to reinvestigate the deaths of patients at Chamarajangar government hospital, which were allegedly caused by a shortage of oxygen. He pointed out that the former health minister, Dr Sudhakar, had downplayed the tragedy, claiming that only two individuals had lost their lives. The chief minister asserts that the actual number of casualties was higher than reported, and he intends to uncover the truth behind the incident.

“We will initiate inquiries into these scams. We will investigate the construction of the four medical colleges and allegations of irregularities surrounding them. Additionally, we will probe the accusations of a 40% commission. There were irregularities in healthcare-related procurements during the Covid-19 period, as well as in irrigation projects and the Bitcoin scam. All of these matters will be thoroughly investigated,” Siddaramaiah said.

State home minister G Parameshwara clarified that they do not have any plans to form a special investigation team (SIT). However, he confirmed that the Karnataka government is going to strictly investigate the alleged scams during the previous government. “I did not say that we are going to form an SIT to investigate the Bitcoin scam. We want the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) to take up the case and a discussion regarding the same is going on. But we will re-investigate the case and expose those involved in the Bitcoin scam,” he said.

The alleged Bitcoin scam came to light after Srikrishna, aka Sriki, was arrested by the Central Crime Branch (CCB) police on November 18, 2020, in a drug peddling case. He had allegedly bought drugs from international dealers using bitcoins on the dark web. In the interrogation that followed, CCB found that the software engineer turned hacker was also involved in a series of online crimes.

He allegedly hacked into websites to steal their data and locked the owners out of it. He would then demand payment in bitcoins to unlock the websites. He also confessed to creating ‘mirror’ sites, or fake payment portals that mimicked real ones, to steal credit or debit card information to steal money.

The police also said that he agreed to steal ₹11.5 crore from the e-procurement cell of the Karnataka e-governance centre, apart from hacking into some Bitcoin exchanges. The Congress, which was in opposition then alleged that the BJP was protecting the hacker involved in the cryptocurrency case. However, erstwhile CM Basavaraj Bommai had denied all the charges and clarified that fair investigation was going on in the case.

Responding to the government’s stand, former Chief Minister and BJP leader Basavaraj Bommai challenged the government to launch a probe. “Let them do whatever they want. Let them launch or relaunch any probe. Let them probe whichever department. I welcome it,” he said.