New Delhi: Maharashtra’s Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar on Wednesday stated that the voices in the purported voice notes, which have been linked to attempts to encash bitcoins to influence the Maharashtra assembly elections, are apparently those of NCP Working President and his cousin sister Supriya Sule and state Congress chief Nana Patole. Both Sule and Patole have rubbished the claims, dubbing the voice notes as fake.
Earlier, BJP alleged that Sule and Patole had a role in the “illegal bitcoin” activities to fund the assembly elections. Voice notes, purportedly featuring Sule and Patole, have also gone viral in connection with the matter.
Talking to media in Baramati, Ajit Pawar pointed out that the Maharashtra government will order an investigation and the truth will come out. “I also heard the voice notes. I know Patole since a long time as he was with me in the assembly, and I can figure out from their tone that the voices in those voice notes are indeed of Supriya and Patole,” he said.
‘He is Ajit Pawar; he is capable of saying anything’: Sule
Denying the charges, Supriya Sule said that the voice notes featuring her and Nana Patole seem to have been AI-generated. Speaking to the media in Baramati, she said, “He is Ajit Pawar; he is capable of saying anything. Ram Krishna Hari.” She added, “I have already submitted a complaint application regarding the issue. It’s unfortunate that some individuals are misusing technology with ill intentions. Recently, a fabricated video of Infosys Foundation Chairperson Sudha Murthy was also circulated. These clips are AI-generated, and the police should probe and find out who is behind these voice notes.”
Reacting sharply to BJP’s allegations of her role in Bitcoin manipulation for poll funding, Sule said, “BJP has made false allegations. I have filed a defamation case. The Maharashtra police will find out the real culprits and I have full faith in them.”
Who made the allegations first
Ravindranath Patil, a retired IPS officer, alleged that Sule and Patole were involved in a fraud involving cryptocurrency dating back to 2018. These funds, he alleged, were used in the assembly election campaign. The BJP seized on the retired officer’s remarks, and Rajya Sabha MP Sudhanshu Trivedi accused Sule and Patole of using illegal bitcoin transactions to manipulate poll outcomes.
ED conducts searches
Meanwhile, the Enforcement Directorate on Wednesday carried out searches at the Chhattisgarh premises of Gaurav Mehta, who is allegedly linked to a bitcoin transactions case in Maharashtra. The searches are being conducted as part of an ongoing probe into money laundering. The locations of Mehta in Chhattisgarh’s capital city Raipur are being raided under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), according to sources.
According to a PTI report, sources said that the ED is probing the role of Mehta and some others on charges of collecting “huge” amounts of funds in the form of bitcoins (amounting to Rs 6,600 crore in 2017) from public with the false promises of 10 per cent per month return in the form of bitcoins. The case stems from police FIRs filed in Maharashtra and Delhi.
