No question of saving anyone in bitcoin, drug scandal: Bommai

Bengaluru, Oct 29: Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Friday reiterated that his government is conducting investigations into drugs, money laundering a bitcoin scandals with all honesty and there is no question of saving anyone.

He also pointed out that the accused was not arrested during the tenure of Siddaramaiah-led Congress government. "Everything will be dealt with in accordance with law," he said.

Flaying charges in this connection by Opposition leader Siddaramaiah, Bommai stated that the former chief minister should talk with evidence. "It is not fair to make baseless allegations. If he possesses any evidence let him submit, it will be investigated, he maintained. Siddaramaiah had alleged that ruling BJP is protecting the accused and hushing up the Bitcoin scandal," said Bommai.

"I have declared a war on drugs. Highest quantity of drugs has been seized in the last two and a half years. The cases have been lodged in such a way that the accused get punished and there is no way for them to escape from the clutches of law," he said.

The accused in the bitcoin scandal, Sriki a.k.a Srikanth has been arrested. A case against him was lodged in 2018, but he has not been arrested.

"Please note which government was ruling at that time. (Congress government under Siddaramaiah ruled the state) He obtained bail. Even after that, he was not called for interrogation. He was also involved in a brawl case in UB City and arrested in that case. If he was questioned properly, everything would have come to light then," he said.

It is only after the BJP came to power that the accused was arrested. His involvement in money laundering, hacking and drug peddling came to light during the course of investigation.

"On March 3, we referred the case to the Enforcement Directorate (ED). It is under investigation. The accused had hacked a government web portal. It is also under investigation. On April 28, we have also referred the case to Interpol branch of Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI)," he explained.

"The government is not protecting anyone in the scandal," Bommai said.