8 more held by Himachal Pradesh Police in crypto scam

Tribune News Service

Shimla, November 5

The SIT constituted by Himachal Pradesh Police to probe the multi-crore rupee cryptocurrency scam has arrested eight more accused, including four police personnel and a home guard, on Saturday taking the total count of arrests made so far to 18.

The arrested accused have been identified as Naresh Kumar from Hamirpur, (police man), Sunil Kumar, posted as Jail Warder at Bangarh jail, Jyoti, police personnel posted at Hamirpur, Balbir Singh, police personnel posted at Kanda Jail in Shimla, Ram Kumar Rana, forest guard from Sunjanpur Tihra, Kirshan Dutt from Hamirpur, Neel Dhiman from Baddi and Gurdeep from Solan.

Director-General of Police (DGP) Sanjay Kundu said, “SIT has arrested eight more accused and taken their five-day police remand. As the investigation is progressing, more and more arrests are being made in the scam. The accused arrested earlier were interrogated and police acted on the vital details shared by them which led to more arrests.”

On being asked about the involvement of police personnel in the scam, the DGP said, “Investigation is on and irrespective of their profession, whether police personnel or from any other occupation, if they duped people, they will be dealt with as per law.”

Among other scammers and masterminds, who orchestrated the scam, the involvement of police personnel has been under scanner from the very start of the investigation. A number of police personnel seems to have invested in the bogus cryptocurrency. The needle of suspicion was on the police personnel as some of them had taken VRS.

Apart from these four police personnel arrested by SIT on Saturday, a former constable of the HP Police, who took voluntary retirement, was among three other accused who were arrested by the Punjab Police in Mohali’s Zirakpur in the scam.

Earlier, SIT had arrested one of the masterminds Abhishek along with three other accused. It also conducted raids at 41 locations in the state and seized incriminating documents, property records, mobile phones and other digital devices in connection with the scam.

Prior to that, the state police had arrested two masterminds of the scam from Gujarat and seven more accused related to the scam in October. The fourth mastermind in the scam, Subhash who had fled the country in May, has been absconding and police is making all-out efforts to arrest him.

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