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This Criminal Petition is filed under Section 482 of Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 (for short 'BNSS') for grant of pre- arrest bail to the petitioner, who is arrayed as accused No.8 in Crime No.29 of 2026 before the Cyber Crime Police Station (TSCSB), registered for the offences punishable under Sections 318(4), 112 and 338 of BNS and Section 66(D) of IT Act-2008.

SKS,J

2. The brief facts of the case are that during analysis of complaints received through the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal (NCRP), certain bank accounts were found linked to cyber fraud complaints and were allegedly used as first or second layer receiving accounts for fraudulent transactions. Based on the preliminary verification conducted by the Cyber Crime Police, a suo-motu FIR was registered against the petitioner and others alleging their involvement in receiving fraud proceeds and converting them into cryptocurrency through peer-to-peer transactions on the Binance platform.

3. Heard Sri K. Nishwitha Reddy, learned counsel appearing on behalf of the petitioner as well as Sri M. Ramachandra Reddy, learned Additional Public Prosecutor appearing on behalf of the respondent - State.

4. Learned counsel for the petitioner submits that the petitioner is innocent and has been falsely implicated and that he participated in cryptocurrency trading through the Binance application after completing KYC verification and carried out only peer-to-peer transactions involving crypto assets like USDT through regular banking channels such as UPI and bank transfers. The petitioner claim that they themselves were victims of an online SKS,J trading scam and have already submitted a representation to the Director General of Police seeking investigation against the real offenders. He contended that the FIR does not attribute any specific overt acts to the petitioner, the alleged offences are punishable with imprisonment below seven years, custodial interrogation is unnecessary as the transactions are traceable through digital records. He further submitted that Accused Nos.15, 14, 17, 21, 13 and 3 others were granted anticipatory bail in the same crime and prayed the Court to grant pre-arrest bail to the petitioner by allowing this Criminal Petition.

6. In the light of the submissions made by both the learned counsel and on perusal of the material available on record, it appears that the present crime has been registered based on the analysis of complaints received through the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal (NCRP). The material on record discloses that certain bank accounts were allegedly linked to cyber fraud transactions and were suspected to have been used as receiving accounts for fraudulent proceeds, which were subsequently converted into cryptocurrency through peer-to-peer transactions on the platform of Binance. The petitioner is arrayed as accused No.8, and the principal allegation against him is that he opened and operated multiple bank accounts to receive and route the proceeds of cyber fraud. These accounts were allegedly utilized for layering transactions and converting illicit funds into cryptocurrency through P2P trading. It is further alleged that despite several accounts being flagged, frozen, or placed under lien by law enforcement authorities, the petitioner continued such activities by opening new accounts across different banks, thereby SKS,J attempting to evade detection. Such conduct, prima facie, indicates the existence of mens rea and active involvement in an organized cyber fraud network. Considering the gravity and seriousness of the allegations and the stage of investigation, this Court is not inclined to grant anticipatory bail to the petitioner and there are no merits in this Criminal Petition, and the same is liable to be dismissed.