Ahmedabad:

A local court here today allowed 8 days (till May 1) remand of Amreli SP Jagdish Patel to CID-crime for further interrogation and investigation in connection with sensational Bitcoin extortion and loot case in which he was arrested yesterday after long interrogation at the CID-crime headquarters in capital Gandhinagar.

DIG CID-Crime Dipankar Trivedi said that Patel was today produced in the designated ACB court here and CID-crime demanded 14 days remand of him. The court however allowed 8 days remand ie till May 1.

Meanwhile, in the case which seems to have its roots spread farther than earlier thought of, the role of a CBI official and an IAS officer to whom he had sent an SMS was also under scanner. The possibility of interrogation with former Dhari MLA Nalin Kotadiya can’t also be ruled out.

The in-charge SP of Amreli B M Desai had yesterday transferred all the policemen from LCB (15 ) and SOG (11) of crime-branch in Amreli after the arrest of his predecessor. The appointments in these departments would now be done all afresh.

Notably, one of the main accused of the case, Amreli LCB PI Anant Patel was arrested on April 19. Two mobile phones allegedly used for the crime and some other evidences were recovered from his house in Nadiyad during a raid. SP Amreli was brought to Gandhinagar by CID-crime yesterday and was interrogated for hours in presence of PI Anant Patel and other arrested accused.

Anant Patel was on the run since the filing of the case earlier this month pertaining to the alleged abduction of a Surat based builder from Gandhingar on February 14 and forceful transfer of 200 bitcoins worth Rs 12 crores from his account and also alleged extortion of 32 crores from him, was nabbed from Adalaj area in Gandhinagar on April 19 by crime branch of Ahmedabad police and was handed over to CID-crime.He had shaved off his head to hide his identity.

SP Amreli Jagdish Patel was also reportedly not coming to office since arrest of PI Patel. He was summoned for interrogation 3 days back and as he did not turn up, the CID-crime team picked him up from his residence in Amreli late last night to bring here.

Earlier on April 8, two police constable of Amreli LCB Babu Der and Vijay and a Surat based Advocate Ketan Patel were arrested in the case and jailed.

CID crime has constituted an SIT in connection with sensational case.

Notably, the case was lodged on the complaint of Surat builder Shailesh Bhatt, who has alleged that he was kidnapped by Patel and several other policemen of Amreli LCB. Bhatt alleged that after his abduction from Gandhinagar, he was kept in a farm house near hare under abduction from where he was forced to reveal the code for transfer of bitcoins. He has also alleged that one of his partner Kirit Paladia was the main conspirator and also former MLA Kotadia and his relative Sanjay Kotadia were involved in it.

Amid the speculations of some big-fishes being involved in the case, the state government has made it clear that no culprit would be spared. Minister of State for Home Pradip Jadeja had said that whoever found involved in the case would be dealt strictly.

Meanwhile, an official of the CID-crime said that the matter of a CBI official formerly involved in the inquiry of Bitcoin case who had sent SMS to an IAS official asking him to call back so that he could share some details with him was also under scanner.

Complainant Bhatt has himself been interrogated for hours by the CID-crime team again.

DeshGujarat