<p>A rogue police constable accused of kidnapping a local cryptocurrency trader and demanding a Bitcoin ransom worth Rs 300 crore has been arrested along with seven accomplices, authorities said Wednesday.</p>.<p>Dilip Tukaram Khandare had learned that a fellow resident of Pune owned a lucrative Bitcoin wallet and hatched a plan to abduct him.</p>.<p>He and his co-conspirators allegedly abducted 38-year-old Vinay Naik on January 14 and demanded he transfer his entire digital currency holdings, worth Rs 300 crore along with another Rs 8 lakh in cash.</p>.<p>Naik was abruptly let go the next day when the kidnappers realised the police were on their tail, and the perpetrators were detained on Tuesday.</p>.<p>"We have taken eight people including a police constable who planned the abduction into custody," a senior police officer confirmed to <em>AFP</em>.</p>.<p>Cryptocurrency remains largely unregulated in India despite burgeoning local trading platforms and glitzy celebrity endorsements attracting millions of new traders.</p>.<p>The burgeoning market was banned in 2018 after a surge in fraudulent transactions but restrictions were lifted by the Supreme Court two years later.</p>.<p>The government this week announced a 30 per cent tax on profits from virtual currencies and the introduction of a "digital rupee" backed by India's central bank.</p>.<p><strong>Check out DH's latest videos</strong></p>
<p>A rogue police constable accused of kidnapping a local cryptocurrency trader and demanding a Bitcoin ransom worth Rs 300 crore has been arrested along with seven accomplices, authorities said Wednesday.</p>.<p>Dilip Tukaram Khandare had learned that a fellow resident of Pune owned a lucrative Bitcoin wallet and hatched a plan to abduct him.</p>.<p>He and his co-conspirators allegedly abducted 38-year-old Vinay Naik on January 14 and demanded he transfer his entire digital currency holdings, worth Rs 300 crore along with another Rs 8 lakh in cash.</p>.<p>Naik was abruptly let go the next day when the kidnappers realised the police were on their tail, and the perpetrators were detained on Tuesday.</p>.<p>"We have taken eight people including a police constable who planned the abduction into custody," a senior police officer confirmed to <em>AFP</em>.</p>.<p>Cryptocurrency remains largely unregulated in India despite burgeoning local trading platforms and glitzy celebrity endorsements attracting millions of new traders.</p>.<p>The burgeoning market was banned in 2018 after a surge in fraudulent transactions but restrictions were lifted by the Supreme Court two years later.</p>.<p>The government this week announced a 30 per cent tax on profits from virtual currencies and the introduction of a "digital rupee" backed by India's central bank.</p>.<p><strong>Check out DH's latest videos</strong></p>