Ahmedabad: In one of Gujarat’s biggest financial crime verdicts, the ACB Special Court of Ahmedabad City Sessions Court on Friday sentenced 14 people – including former BJP MLA Nalin Kotadiya and former Amreli SP and IPS officer Jagdish Patel – to life imprisonment in the sensational 2018 Bitcoin scam and kidnapping case.
The scam, which shook the state’s political and policing system, involved the kidnapping of Surat builder Shailesh Bhatt, the seizure of 200 Bitcoins, and a ransom demand of ₹32 crore.
The Case That Shook Gujarat
According to the prosecution, Amreli police officers, led by then SP Jagdish Patel, along with political figures and middlemen, kidnapped Bhatt from Gandhinagar and detained him at a farmhouse. They extorted Bitcoins and huge sums of cash after learning that Bhatt himself had forcibly acquired cryptocurrency worth ₹150 crore from Surat-based businessman Dhawal Mawani.
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“This was not just a scam; it was a nexus of politics, police, and corruption,” said Special Public Prosecutor Amit Patel, who argued the case on behalf of the state.
Key Accused and Court’s Verdict
Among the 15 people arrested were then Amreli LCB PI Anant Patel, CBI Inspector Sunil Nair, lawyer Ketan Patel, and businessman Kirit Paladiya, besides Kotadiya and Patel.
The court acquitted only one accused, Jatin Patel, while sentencing the rest to life.
“Today’s verdict proves that no one is above the law. Even those in uniform and public office cannot misuse power to indulge in organized crime,” said a senior CID Crime official.
Web of Extortion, Bribes, and Crypto
Investigations revealed shocking details:
CBI Inspector Sunil Nair accepted a ₹5 crore bribe in cash.
Amreli police seized Bitcoins worth ₹12 crore.
Kotadiya and Patel conspired with middlemen to target Bhatt.
Bhatt, however, was not free from allegations himself. He has been accused of kidnapping BitConnect officials and extorting 2,021 Bitcoins, 11,000 Litecoins, and ₹14.5 crore after suffering losses of over ₹1 crore in the company.
In his complaint, Bhatt alleged that SP Jagdish Patel, Nalin Kotadiya, and CBI officer Sunil Nair threatened him with ED and Income Tax action and forced him to pay crores as bribes.
