How kidnappers extorted Rs 1.3 crore in Bitcoin from UP businessman

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Three people were arrested in Uttar Pradesh for extorting Rs 1.3 crore in Bitcoin as ransom from a businessman they kidnapped. The shocking case is the first-of-its-kind crypto crime reported from state capital Lucknow, reports Times of India.

The case came to light a week after police in Uttar Pradesh arrested Sandeep Pratap Singh, Vijay Pratap Singh and Rajveer Singh for kidnapping the realtor. Police say the accused knew that Arjun Bhargava traded in cryptocurrency and therefore hatched a plan and posed as real estate agents to extort the exorbitant amount.

On August 7, the three took Bhargava to Barabanki under the pretext of showing him a plot of land.

“On the way, they tied his hands and legs and took him to a house in Barabanki where they tortured him for three hours,” said DCP (East Zone) Prachi Singh.

Bhargava was held hostage in a house and tortured until the abductors got Rs 1.3 crore in Bitcoin transferred to their own accounts. His wife Nidhi Bhargava said in her FIR that the abductors trained pistols on Bhargava and forced him to reveal his password.

"They also forced my husband to transfer the money into their bank account and opened fire when he resisted it. Luckily, he was not hurt. They then transported him to Lucknow and dumped him on the roadside," she said, according to Times of India.

Police found Rs 30,000 in cash, a country-made pistol, three live cartridges, five mobile phones and a car on them when the trio was arrested.

Cops managed to catch the abductors acting on a tip from an informant. "We laid a trap and, on Tuesday, when they visited the Kalindi Park locality probably to collect more money from the businessman, we arrested them," said DCP Singh.