Pune: Man arrested for defrauding bitcoin investor of Rs 19.7 lakh

On Sunday, a 34-year-old man was apprehended by sleuths from Shivajinagar police station on accusations of defrauding a private firm employee by selling bitcoins worth Rs 19.7 lakh.

Priyesh Rao, alias Shetty Mukul, is an inhabitant of Karjat in the Raigad district. He had been on the run since March 2022, changing his name and residing in numerous locations. Shabbir Shaikh (41), a businessman from Mumbai's Mira Road, was arrested earlier.

Mukul, Shaikh, and Sujay Paul of Handewadi Road were booked in March 2022 under sections 419, 420, 506, and 34 of the IPC. A Shanivar Peth resident, 36, has filed a complaint against the accused.

According to the complaint, the accused met with him at his office over a year ago and promised to sell him bitcoins. The accused got Rs 19.7 lakh from him via online transactions after promising him three bitcoins. He did not, however, receive the bitcoins.

"Our team traced Mukul to Raigad and nabbed him there," said Deputy Commissioner of Police Sandeep Singh Gill. From his possession, we recovered seven mobile phones, ten SIM cards, 18 passbooks for various bank accounts, eight debit cards, and other items. "We also apprehended Shabbir Shaikh through a technical investigation of cell phone numbers, and the third culprit is being sought."