Overview

• The Ahmedabad City Sessions Court convicted 14 of 15 accused, including former MLA Nalin Kotadiya and ex-Amreli SP Jagdish Patel, for abducting trader Shailesh Bhatt and extorting 200 bitcoins in 2018.
• All 14 received life imprisonment and a fine of Rs 25,000 each, while one accused was acquitted after a trial that ran for years in the ACB Special Court.
• The court said the accused abused official positions and conspired to seize crypto assets and cash, with ransom demands routed through Angadia couriers and threats of enforcement action.
• Evidence included testimonies from about 172–173 witnesses and 290 documentary and material exhibits, and the judge ordered perjury proceedings against roughly 25 witnesses who turned hostile.
• Reports differ on the bitcoins’ value at the time, placing it between roughly Rs 12 crore and Rs 32 crore, and several convicted police personnel said they will appeal in the High Court.