SENIOR GUJARAT COP DETAINED BY CID IN BITCOIN EXTORTION CASE

Gujarat police detained Amreli superintendent of police Jagdish Patel on Sunday night in connection with the alleged abduction of a businessman as part of a bitcoin-extortion conspiracy earlier this year.

He is the first high-ranking officer to be linked with the case, in which 10 police personnel have already been implicated. Three police personnel and a lawyer have been arrested in this regard since March.

“Jagdish Patel was detained from his official residence in Amreli last night. He will be interrogated along with accused police inspector Anant Patel,” said a police officer.

A complaint lodged by Suratbased builder Shailesh Bhatt with the CID on February 23 stated that he was abducted by the Amreli crime branch team from Gandhinagar on February 11, and kept in illegal confinement at a farmhouse. It further alleged that the police personnel transferred bitcoins worth Rs 20 crore from Bhatt’s digital wallet during his confinement.

The businessman said he was released only after he assured his captors an additional ransom of Rs 32 crore.

Jagdish Patel was not named in the FIR lodged by the Gujarat CID against 10 policemen and a lawyer on March 8. He is expected to be questioned by the CID in Bhatt’s presence.

Nalin Kotadia, a former MLA from Dhari, is also likely to be interrogated in connection with the case.

While Anant Patel was arrested last week, three others – two constables and a lawyer – were taken into custody in March.

AHMEDABAD: