Amreli, a district in Gujarat, India recently witnessed a Bitcoin crime. Amreli's SP Jagdish Patel and Inspector Anant Patel allegedly kidnapped a real estate developer Shailesh Bhatt, lashed him and forcibly made him transfer 200 BTC worth of INR 12 crore from his account. They also asked him to pay INR 32 crore in cash. A source revealed that Jagdish Patel stayed away from office after the arrest of Inspector Anant Patel.
Bhatt said that other policemen from Amreli’s LCB team were also involved who helped Patel to keep him imprisoned at a farmhouse near Gandhinagar, a neighboring city. He was forced to share his passwords and code for the transfer of Bitcoins in that farmhouse.
"We picked up the Amreli SP after interrogating arrested Crime Branch Inspector Anant Patel," Director General of Police (CID-Crime) Ashish Bhatia informed the media. Though Jagdish's name was not mentioned in FIR, he was still arrested today when his role appeared in this case.
It is notable that Jagdish is the first high-ranking officer to be linked with the case, in which 10 other police officers have already been involved. Three police personnel and a lawyer have also been jailed in this regard in March.
In the meantime, Director General of Police (DGP) of Gujarat, Shivanand Jha suspended Anant Patel, who is already in the custody of the CID-Crime. Inspector Anant Patel & other officers are now charged under IPC (Indian Penal Code) sections related to abduction, extortion, illegal detention and other relevant provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act -1998.
As per the reports, a former member of the Gujarat political party, Parivartan Party - Nalin Kotadia, is likely to be questioned. Bhatt named Kotadia for pressuring him to accept the ransom request. The CID-Crime branch has now established a SIT to examine the case.