Pune: Nationalist Congress Party (SP) leader Supriya Sule and Maharashtra Congress chief Nana Patole on Tuesday filed complaints with the cyber police and Election Commission of India (ECI) against former Indian Police Service (IPS) officer Ravindranath Patil and the BJP over the Bitcoin misappropriation allegation on the eve of voting for Maharashtra Assembly elections 2024.

Patil levelled allegations against Sule, the Baramati MP, and Maharashtra Congress president Nana Patole, accusing them of misappropriating Bitcoins from a 2018 cryptocurrency fraud case and using the same to fund the ongoing Maharashtra assembly elections. The BJP subsequently released two purported voice notes suggesting that Sule and Patole were involved in a conspiracy to encash Bitcoins to influence the electoral process, The Indian Express reported today.

“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 Hon’ble ECI & 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,” Sule said on X.

After BJP leader Sudhanshu Trivedi amplified the allegations, Sule said, “I deny all the allegations levelled against me by Sudhanshu Trivedi.” She said all this was conjecture and innuendo and that she was ready for a public forum debate with any BJP representative at a time and date of their choice.

Sule’s estranged cousin and Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar also attacked her. “From the tone in the audio clips, I can identify the voices. One of them is my sister, and the other is someone I have worked with extensively. An inquiry will be conducted, and the truth will emerge,” Ajit Pawar said on Wednesday morning.