Bitcoin Scandal Rocks Maharashtra Politics Ahead of Elections

Former IPS officer Ravindranath Patil accuses top Maharashtra political leaders of misappropriating bitcoins from a 2018 fraud case to fund the upcoming elections. The allegations include voice and text proof involving Supriya Sule and Nana Patole, as well as police officials. Investigations are being called for.

Frenzy envelops the political scene in Maharashtra as former IPS officer Ravindranath Patil launches grave allegations against leading political figures. Patil alleges that bitcoins misappropriated from a 2018 cryptocurrency fraud have been funneled into funding the forthcoming Maharashtra Assembly Elections, with the accused top brass including Supriya Sule and Nana Patole.

In explosive claims specified to ANI, Patil implicates then Pune Police Commissioner Amitabh Gupta and Deputy Commissioner Bhagyashri Nautake in a scheme said to swap cryptocurrency wallets for illicit gains. Allegedly, those funds are now transforming into electoral ammunition. Patil insists on tangible proof, including voice notes that detail Supriya Sule's directives to exchange bitcoins for cash in Dubai.

Patil's allegations further stretch into the corridors of law enforcement wherein voice recordings purportedly capture Amitabh Gupta's cash demands and strategies to replace cryptocurrency hardware wallets. The accused entities, at present, have not offered a response to the allegations levied. As political tensions mount, these claims add yet another layer of intrigue ahead of the state's pivotal elections on November 20.

(With inputs from agencies.)