An Indian police officer, Chandrahar SR, has been arrested for stealing Bitcoin worth approximately $216,000 during a crypto scam investigation. He illegally accessed a hacker’s Bitcoin wallet, which was evidence in a 2017 scam case involving Srikrishna Ramesh and Robin Khandelwal.
Ramesh and Khandelwal had hacked exchanges like Bitfinex and made around $660,000. Despite initial claims that the Bitcoins were unrecoverable, a Special Investigation Team (SIT) found Chandrahar had coerced Khandelwal to transfer the funds. Chandrahar and two other officers accessed the wallet at a private cyber expert’s office in Bengaluru.
Charged with illegal confinement, breach of trust, and destruction of evidence, Chandrahar was arrested after evading law enforcement. This incident underscores the increasing scrutiny of India’s crypto sector amid rising scams and frauds.
Such cases highlight the critical need for stringent regulatory oversight in the rapidly evolving cryptocurrency landscape.
