AHMEDABAD:
Gujarat high court on Monday granted relief to a
Surat-based builder,
Shailesh Bhatt, and stayed his arrest in connection with a
cheating case pertaining to a
land transaction at Karjan in Vadodara district.
Last month, Bhatt complained to the government and CID (crime) that while inquiring into his complaint, Amreli police forcibly got 200 bitcoin of his, worth Rs 12 crore, transferred after abduction and torture.
Bhatt believes that the FIR against him is a counterblast by the Gujarat police, after he complained about extortion by Amreli police. His advocate, Tejas Barot, submitted before the high court that the complaint filed by Karjan police is with regard to transactions in connection with a land parcel, which took place between 2013 and 2015. The plot was transferred and one of the persons involved in the transactions filed a civil suit three years ago.
While civil proceedings were pending, there was no occasion for police to register an FIR against Bhatt for cheating. It was an attempt to falsely give criminal colour to a civil dispute. Justice A J Desai ordered police not to take coercive action against Bhatt.
Bhatt approached a minister with the grievance that cops from Amreli local crime branch, including police inspector A K Patel, abducted him on February 11 from a petrol pump near Gandhinagar while he was sitting with his business partner, Kirit Paladiya. In his complaint, he stated that they were dealing in crypto currency and had 200 bitcoins in Paladiya’s wallet. He was aware of the details.
On February 11, Bhatt was kidnapped by Amreli police and taken to Keshav Farm near Chiloda. He was tortured and made to reveal the details at gunpoint, giving access to the digital currency. After extracting the details, the police inspector transferred the digital currency to his wallet, Bhatt’s complaint said.
The cops later allegedly demanded Rs 50 crore for his release. The deal was settled at Rs 32 crore and he was allowed to go on him instructing an angadiya firm to pay the amount. When released, Bhatt expressed his grievance before the minister, who asked CID (crime) to inquire into the complaint.
