An Indian police officer, Chandrahar SR, has been arrested for stealing over $216,000 worth of Bitcoin, which was part of an ongoing investigation into a massive cryptocurrency scam. The officer, a former inspector with the Central Crime Branch (CCB), was accused of illegally accessing the Bitcoin wallet of a hacker, Srikrishna Ramesh, who was involved in the scam.

The scam, which dates back to 2017, involved hacking cryptocurrency exchanges like Bitfinex and Unocoin, resulting in the theft of approximately $660,000. Ramesh and his associate, Robin Khandelwal, were arrested in 2020 for their role in the scam. However, the investigation faced a setback when the Crime Branch reported that the stolen Bitcoins could not be recovered.

An investigation by a Special Investigation Team (SIT) revealed that Chandrahar had collaborated with a private cyber expert, Santosh Kumar, to access the hacker's wallet. The accused accessed the wallet at Kumar's office in Bengaluru between December 30, 2020, and January 6, 2021. Chandrahar, along with Kumar and two other CCB officers, have been charged with illegal confinement, breach of trust by a public servant, and destruction of evidence related to the Bitcoin scam.

Chandrahar had been evading law enforcement since he was summoned for questioning. He was eventually arrested from his residence in North Bengaluru. Two other unnamed police officers have also been arrested in relation to the Bitcoin scam investigation.

India has seen an increase in scams and frauds, prompting regulators to tighten their oversight of the nation's crypto sector. The arrest of Chandrahar highlights the need for greater accountability and transparency within law enforcement agencies to prevent such incidents from occurring in the future.