Indian court sentences 14 policemen to life for crypto extortion

An Indian court has sentenced more than 14 people to life imprisonment for the kidnapping and crypto extortion of a businessman in 2018. According to reports, the individuals involved kidnapped the businessman, based in Surat, and extorted funds in digital assets from him.

Out of the 14 individuals convicted in the case, court documents show that 11 police officials were found complicit for their involvement in the case. According to court records, the 11 Indian police officials convicted in the case included former Amreli district superintendent of police Jagdish Patel, former BJP MLA from Amreli Nalin Kotadiya, and two other unnamed high-ranking officials. Meanwhile, the judge held that one of the accused, Jalin Patel, was innocent, so he was discharged and acquitted.

Over 14 policemen imprisoned for life in crypto extortion case

According to reports, the case was similar to a criminal thriller. The prosecution noted that the victim, Shailesh Bhatt, had gotten an unspecified amount of Bitcoin from Dhaval Mavani after making investments in a firm located in Surat worth Rs. 8,000 crore (approximately $960 million), after it closed down abruptly. When the news filtered to Kotadiya and Amreli SP, they formulated a plan to track down Bhatt and steal the digital assets from him.

Court documents showed that Bhatt was illegally apprehended and arrested, with the individuals involved moving their plans a step further by arresting him. They detained him at a Keshav Farm near Gandhinagar in February 2018, with Indian police officials from the Amreli district watching over him at the location. According to the documents, Anant Patel, the local crime branch police inspector in Amreli, was one of the kidnappers.

The kidnappers were able to beat and intimidate Bhatt to the point where he confessed that he had extorted 752 Bitcoin from Mavani towards his share, one which was 176 Bitcoin that he owned with his business partner Krit Paladiya, noting that he had also sold other tokens for Rs. 44 crore (approximately $5.2 million). Notably, Paladiya is also an accused in this case. Bhatt was allowed to go after he promised to transfer 176 Bitcoin and Rs. 32 crore to the gang of kidnappers.

However, when he failed to hold up his end of the bargain, the accused extorted Rs. 1.32 crore from him by forcing him to sell 34 Bitcoin from Paladiya’s wallet. Bhatt took this complaint to the Union home ministry, where he was directed to the CID in Gandhinagar to register a criminal FIR in April 2018. The police started a lengthy investigations after the FIR and they were able to track several suspects involved in the case before narrowing it down to 15 individuals.

Court says verdict will serve as a warning to other public officials

During the trial, public prosecutor Amit Patel examined more than 173 witnesses, with 92 of them turning hostile in court. During the conviction, the court also issued perjury to about 25 hostile witnesses. During the trial, Bhatt also approached the higher courts over the outcome of the trial, making moves to delay his appearance in court.

After the conclusion of the trial, the Indian court awarded life imprisonment to the convicted individuals. “Widespread corruption among public servants and private persons is required to be curbed with a strong hand by all, and certainly, the verdict of the court has greater magnitude than other means,” the Indian court said.

The court also ordered that the gold jewelry seized from the Amreli SP should be confiscated and processed by the Master of Mint at Mumbai. All the Indian police officers found guilty were charged under the Prevention of Corruption Act for criminal misconduct by public servants. The convicts were also sentenced to life imprisonment under Section 364A of the IPC, and different jail terms in other IPC and PC Act sections, in addition to being fined.

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