MALAPPURAM: The Malappuram native, whose body was abandoned on the premises of a hospital on Dehradun-Mussoorie road on Thursday, was killed by his friends following dispute over Bitcoin business, police said.
The deceased is Abdul Shukoor, 24, a resident of Pulamanthol, Perinthalmanna. The assailants, all residents of Malappuram, were his business partners or those who had invested large amounts of money in bitcoin business.
Dehradun police said that the 10-member gang from Kerala had severely tortured Abdul Shukoor to get the password of his several billions-worth Bitcoin account.
According to the police, the 10-member gang was also a part of Shukoor’s business team.
Brought to hospital by friends
Abdul Shukoor was physically and mentally assaulted for several days at a house in Prem Nagar on the outskirts of Dehradun.
When his condition turned critical owing to the assault, the gang members rushed him to a hospital as they wanted to keep him alive to get the password of his bitcoin account.
However, when doctors confirmed the death of Shukoor, the gang fled from the spot.
Later the police arrested five members of the team. Police have launched a hunt for the remaining members of the team.
The five accused arrested by the Dehradun police were identified as Sufail Mukhtar, Arvind C, Faris Mamnoon, Aftaba Mohammad and Asif Ali. Five others- Aashiq, Arshad, Yasin, Rehaab and Muneef- are on the run.
Bitcoin business
Shukoor had stared the business of investing in bitcoin some years ago. He collected around Rs 485 crore from thousands of people in the state and invested the money in bitcoin.
He collected a huge amount with the help of his team members. However, when the value of bitcoin fell drastically, Shukoor failed to give dividends to the investors.
Knowing the failure of the bitcoin business, the investors started asking their money back. But Shukoor sought time to return their investments. As pressure mounted on him, Shukoor and his team members fled from the state to Dehradun.
However, his own team members grew suspicious that Shukoor was cheating them also.
Aashiq, one of the absconding persons, suspected that Shukoor’s bitcoin account was still worth hundreds of crores of rupees.
Aashiq and other team members started to physically torture Shukoor to get the password of the account, which turned fatal.
Abdul Shukoor was physically and mentally assaulted for several days at a house in Prem Nagar on the outskirts of Dehradun.
When his condition turned critical owing to the assault, the gang members rushed him to a hospital as they wanted to keep him alive to get the password of his bitcoin account
The assailants, all residents of Malappuram, were his business partners or those who had invested large amounts of money in bitcoin business.
‘He sought time to return money’
A resident of Pulamanthol said on condition of anonymity that many people in Malappuram and outside had made crores by investing in Shukoor’s business when it recorded huge profits.
“He told people that his company is based out of Malaysia. He was able to convince people in the area to invest in his company. Many people made several crores by investing in his company. But when the value of bitcoin fell, the investors en masse wanted to get back their money. I heard many WhatsApp voice messages from him to the investors, requesting more time to return their money. I think, he would have returned the money, had he got more time as the value of bitcoin shot up recently from all-time low,” he said.
Another resident in the area said people were reluctant to file complaints against Shukoor in the police station as he was young. “He was a young person, but he showed the maturity of a grown-up person. Though people here wanted their money back, they were not ready to hurt him,” the resident said.
No case in Malappuram
According to the Malappuram police, the crime took place in Dehradun. The police there have already started an investigation into it. Also, the Dehradun police did not confirm that the culprits are from Malappuram district and no one has filed a complaint against Abdul Shukoor here, Malappuram police said.
“Dehradun police sent a message to us about the murder of Abdul Shukoor. We identified that he was a native of Pulamanthol, Perinthalmanna. They did not give any further information about the culprits. Also, no one in the district has filed a complaint or cheating case against Abdul Shukoor,” said district police chief Abdul Kareem U.
However, the district police will cooperate with the Dehradun police if necessary.
“If the Dehradun police seek our help, we will definitely help them and cooperate in the investigation,” Abdul Kareem said.
Body brought home
The body of Shukoor was brought to Malappuram on Saturday. The burial was held in the evening.