‘Not My Voice’: After Casting Vote, Supriya Sule Rejects BJP Charge Over Bitcoin Audio Clips – News18

Last Updated:November 20, 2024, 09:22 IST

Supriya Sule has dismissed BJP’s “bitcoin scam” allegation stating that she is ready to answer all questions.

NCP-SP MP and Sharad Pawar’s daughter Supriya Sule on Wednesday dismissed BJP’s allegations of her involvement in the alleged “cryptocurrency scam” stating that the audio clip presented by the saffron party does not have her voice.

She said that she is ready to answer all questions raised by the BJP and claimed her innocence in the matter informing that she has sent a defamation notice to BJP leader Sudhanshu Trivedi who made the allegations at a press conference.

Supriya Sule Denies Corruption Allegations

“Yesterday, all these voice recordings were sent to me by the media. The first thing I did was to call the Commissioner of Pune and tell him that some fake videos were running and I wanted to complain to cybercrime. I immediately complained to cybercrime that all these voice notes and messages were lies and fake, so I sent a notice to cybercrime,” Sule said after casting her vote in Baramati.

“After that, there is the spokesperson of BJP who held a press conference…After that, I called my lawyers and this morning I sent a criminal defamation notice to Sudhanshu Trivedi. I am ready to come out and answer Sudhanshu Trivedi anytime in whichever city he wants, on whichever channel he wants, at whatever time he wants, wherever he calls me, I will come and I will answer him,” she added.

Ajit Pawar, Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister and Sule’s cousin, on Wednesday, confirmed that one of the voices in the audio clip was of Sule and said that an investigation into the matter should be initiated.

What Is ‘Bitcoin Scam’?

Maharashtra Congress was hit by a corruption allegation on the eve of the polling day after the BJP took note of the allegations by a retired police officer Ravindranath Patil who alleged that Sule and state Congress chief Nana Patole were involved in a fraud case involving cryptocurrency, dating back to 2018, and have used the fund in the Maharashtra Assembly Elections.

The BJP, at a press conference on the voting day eve, played a purported audio clip of Sule’s conversation with an alleged witness in the case. The party also shared some chats involving the former police officer.

“The subject of the chats involves a former police officer, who had previously spent some time in jail for an allegation, being contacted by an accused dealer. The dealer requests a transaction involving bitcoins to be converted into cash,” Trivedi alleged.

Earlier, former IPS officer Ravindra Nath Patil claimed he was hired as a cryptocurrency expert to investigate the case in 2018, but was arrested on fraud charges in 2022 and spent 14 months in prison. “During that time, I kept wondering what had happened, what the case was about, and why I had been trapped,” he said.

Patil said a key witness in the case – Gaurav Mehta, an employee of an audit firm – had contacted him a few times in the past few days and shared details about the 2018 cryptocurrency fraud investigation. Patil alleged that Mehta named Sule, Patole, and Amitabh Gupta in the case.

Location :

Baramati, India