New Delhi: The Bharatiya Janata Party ( BJP ) on the eve of Maharashtra elections played audio tapes alleging them to be of Sharad Pawar ’s daughter Supriya Sule and state Congress chief Nana Patole, accusing the two leaders of giving instructions to convert Bitcoin in exchange of money.

According to the BJP, the alleged audio tapes are of Gaurav Mehta, employee of audit firm, Sarathi Associates; former Pune Police Commissioner Amitabh Gupta; Congress leader Nana Patole, and Sharad Pawar-led NCP leader Supriya Sule. Republic Media Network can not vouch for the authenticity of the tapes.

The first audio file shows alleged conversation between Gaurav Mehta and Amitabh Gupta, second between Nana Patole and Amitabh Gupta, third between Supriya Sule and Gaurav Mehta and fourth between Amitabh and Gaurav.

In the first video, they are allegedly heard saying “we had made 4 crypto wallets under the names of Patil and Ghode and the transactions were done from these wallets. If there is an investigation, Patil (Ravindranath Patil, former IPS officer) and Ghode would be caught.”

In another audio tape shared by BJP, Supriya Sule is allegedly heard saying, “…need cash in exchange for bitcoins… you need not to worry about the inquiry, we will handle it when we come to power.”

“Prices are favourable right now and the elections are approaching… we will need funds….” the audio tape allegedly claim Supriya Sule as saying.

The BJP also shared alleged screenshots of signal chats between Gaurav Mehta and ex-IPS Ravindranath Patil.

BJP allegations on the alleged bitcoin ‘scam’ has come after former IPS-officer Ravindranath Patil claimed that Supriya Sule and Nana Patole used bitcoin cash for funds to be used in elections.

The former IPS officer alleged that the two leaders had misappropriated bitcoins from a 2018 Cryptocurrency Fraud Case and had used by the same to fund the ongoing Maharashtra Assembly Elections . Patil says he is ready to support the investigation.

Speaking to ANI, former IPS officer alleged that Amitabh Gupta, then Commissioner of Police, Pune, and Bhagyashri Nautake, then Deputy Commissioner of Police handling the Cyber Crime Investigations were involved in the misappropriation of bitcoins, which are eventually being used by the two political leaders.

Supriya Sule denies allegations 

NCP leader Supriya Sule denied BJP’s allegations saying, “familiar tactics of spreading false information to manipulate the righteous voters are being resorted to, a night before the polling day. We have filed a criminal complaint to the ECI and the cyber crime department against the fake allegations made of bitcoin misappropriation. The intent and mala fide actors behind it are amply evident, condemn worthy that such practices are taking place in a healthy democracy guided by the Constitution of India.”

“I deny all the allegations levelled against me by Sudhanshu Trivedi. All this is conjecture and innuendo and I am ready for a debate with any representative of the BJP at a time and date of their choice, in a public forum,” she wrote in a post on X.

“It’s appalling that such baseless allegations are made by Sudhanshu Trivedi, yet not surprising as it’s a clear case of spreading false information, the night before elections. My lawyer will be issuing a criminal & civil defamation notice against Sudhanshu Trivedi for making outrightly false allegations with an intent to deceive the public at large,” she wrote in another post.

Republic Media Network, across platforms and mediums of operation, cannot vouch for the authenticity of the alleged audio tapes, screen shots and recordings as released by the BJP and allegations made by Ravindranath Patil