Pune: As many as eight people including a have been arrested in Pune’s Pimpri Chinchwad on Wednesday for allegedly abducting a man to extort bitcoin cryptocurrency worth Rs 300 crore.
The arrested accused have been identified as Sunil Ram Shinde, Vasant Shyamrao Chavan, Francis Timothy D’Souza, Mayur Mahendra Shirke, Pradip Kashinath Kate, Nico Rajesh Bansal, Shirish Chandrakant Khot, and constable Dilip Tukaram Khandare being the mastermind of this conspiracy, the police said.
“During the investigation, it was revealed that a constable, Dilip Tukaram Khandare, while working with Pune cybercrime cell, had learnt that share trader Vinay Naik has bitcoin cryptocurrency worth Rs 300 crore. Following this, Khandare hatched a conspiracy with other history sheeters to kidnap Vinay Naik and extort bitcoins,” Zone 2 Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Anand Bhoite was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.
According to the police, the accused persons had abducted the victim of Tathawade from a hotel on January 14. The investigation began after an FIR was registered by the victim’s friend.
Police said that the accused released the victim and dropped him at a nearby area in order to avoid arrest. Later, the victim informed the police that he was abducted for bitcoins. All accused are in police custody an further investigation is underway, the police added.
