Karnataka police seek public help to nab absconding cop wanted in Bitcoin scam

Mangalore Today News Network

Bengaluru, March 17, 2024: The Karnataka CID police investigating the Bitcoin scam have issued a public notice seeking information on the whereabouts of Sridhar Poojar, a deputy superintendent of police wanted for investigation in connection with the case.

He has been on the run ever since anticipatory bail was denied to him on February 23 in connection with the scam. Pujar is accused of attempting to hack various cryptocurrency wallets, payment gateways and stock exchange websites with the help of hacker Sriki, who is an accused in several cases.

On February 27, Pujar allegedly rammed his car into a bike in which two police officers from the Special Investigation Team (SIT) investigating the case had come to arrest him, and sped away.

Pujar is among the four former City Crime Branch (CCB) officials named in the case. In January, the SIT arrested Prashanth Babu, a former police inspector with the CCB, and private cyber expert Santhosh Kumar KS. Other police personnel named in the case include Chandradhar SR and Lakshmikanthaiah, both attached to the CCB during the scam.

The public notice issued by the police said that Pujar was accused number five in a case being investigated by the Financial Investigation Unit of the CID. “Processing of declaring (him a) Proclaimed Offender under Section 82 of CrPC is under progress in Hon’ble 1st ACMM Court. Any information about the accused person resulting in securing him will be suitably rewarded. The details of the informant will be kept confidential,” the notice read.

When rejecting Pujar’s anticipatory bail in February, a special court indicated that there was prima facie evidence to suggest wrongdoing by the officer following hacker Sriki’s arrest in 2020. The officers are accused of holding Sriki and his associate in illegal custody before showing official arrest.

Last month, IPS officer Sandeep Patil, who headed the Bengaluru Crime Branch between 2020 and 2021, appeared before the SIT. He was the supervisory officer in the cases against the hacker.