The head of Ahmedabad police's crime branch, J K Bhatt, has filed a criminal defamation suit against a person accused of syphoning off Rs 260 crore of investors' money.

Accused Vinay Shah and his wife Bhargavi Shah have become untraceable after two FIRs were registered against them at Vastrapur police station in the last two days, a police official said.

However, before closing their office in the city and vanishing, Vinay Shah purportedly posted a 'suicide letter' on social media, claiming that he had paid Rs 86 lakh to Bhatt's middleman as "protection money".

The middleman took the money in three instalments ten months ago, Shah claimed.

Following the allegation, Bhatt, who is Special Commissioner of Police, crime branch, filed a criminal defamation suit against Shah, claiming that the allegations were baseless and they tarnished his image.

In a statement, Bhatt said he filed the case in a magistrate's court here Monday under IPC section 500 (defamation) and he will also file a civil defamation suit demanding damages of Rs 20 crore from Shah.

Shah and his wife had cheated people by offering very high returns on investment, he alleged.

According to Vastrapur police, Shah allegedly promised to double the investment in just one year by floating a scheme where the members had to click on online ads to get regular returns.

"In his so-called suicide letter, Shah claimed that his firms had a turnover of Rs 260 crore. So the fraud could be to the tune of Rs 260 crore. Till now, two complainants have come forward and claimed they lost Rs 1.04 lakh," said police inspector M M Jadeja.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)