On the eve of the crucial Maharashtra assembly election 2024, a major controversy erupted after Ravindranath Patil, a former IPS officer from Pune, on Tuesday levelled serious allegations against Baramati MP and NCP (SP) leader Supriya Sule, as well as Maharashtra Congress president Nana Patole. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) quickly latched onto the allegation, releasing purported voice notes, which they claim involve Supriya Sule and Nana Patole in a conspiracy to encash Bitcoins to influence the electoral process.
BJP leaders alleged that the scheme was aimed at manipulating the elections, raising questions about the fairness and integrity of the polls.
Supriya Sule reacted to the allegations, saying she was “amused” that the party was willing to “come down to such a level".
The former IPS officer alleged that the two leaders had misappropriated bitcoins from a 2018 cryptocurrency fraud case and had used by the same to fund the ongoing Maharashtra assembly elections. Ravindranath Patil said he is ready to support the investigation.
Speaking to news agency ANI, former IPS officer alleged that Amitabh Gupta, then commissioner of police, Pune, and Bhagyashri Nautake, then deputy commissioner of police handling the cyber crime investigations were involved in the misappropriation of bitcoins, which are eventually being used by the two political leaders.
BJP spokesperson Sudhanshu Trivedi backed the claims during a press conference on Tuesday. Trivedi presented three audio clips claiming that they were evidence that Nana Patole and Supriya Sule were involved in this “Bitcoin scam.”
Supriya Sule challenged Trivedi to a debate over allegations of a “bitcoin scam”.
Taking to social media platform X, Supriya Sule stated that she is prepared to engage in a public discussion with any BJP representative at a time and place of their choosing.
"I deny all the allegations levelled against me by Sudhanshu Trivedi. All this is conjecture and innuendo, and I am ready for a debate with any representative of the bjp at a time and date of their choice, in a public forum," Sule posted on X.
In response to these accusations, Supriya Sule has filed a criminal complaint with the Election Commission and the Cyber Cell in Pune.
Prior to filing the complaint, Sule criticised Sudhanshu Trivedi for making “baseless allegations” and accused him of disseminating false information.
“It's appalling that such baseless allegations are made by Mr Sudhanshu Trivedi, yet not surprising as it's a clear case of spreading false information, the night before elections. My lawyer will be issuing a criminal and civil defamation notice against Sudhanshu Trivedi for making outrightly false allegations with an intent to deceive the public at large,” Sule posted on X, tagging Trivedi.
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