Online trading scam: No accused will be spared, says Assam DGP

Guwahati: Assam Director General of Police (DGP) Gyanendra Pratap Singh on Tuesday said that no accused in the multi-crore online trading scam will be spared and guilty persons will face the wrath of the law.

The top cop was reacting to questions regarding one accused Dipankar Barman, who allegedly collected more than Rs 700 crore, and continued to be on the run.

DGP Singh said, “No accused can evade police arrest as the evidence is completely digital. We have all the information regarding who paid the money and the amount of financial transactions, etc. The investigation team has the specific information of money trail related to the trading fraud and the accused will face proper consequences.”

He also asserted that nobody can be successful in evading police arrest for a long time. However, the DGP did not divulge much information on the investigation.

“At this moment, I cannot detail every point of the investigation before the public as the probe is underway,” the DGP stated.

Meanwhile, the Guwahati resident, Swapnanil Das who was earlier arrested last month for running an online trading scam, was remanded to four days of police custody on Tuesday. He will be questioned by the Kamrup district police in this case.

To recall, an online trading scam amounting to Rs 2,200 crore was busted in Assam after Bishal Phukan was arrested from his Dibrugarh residence and Swapnanil Das was taken into custody last month.

Assamese actress Sumi Borah came under the scanner of police after Phukan’s arrest. Police claimed that Bishal Phukan used Borah’s network in the Assamese movie industry to get clients for online trading on the pretext of giving them higher returns.

Police said, “Bishal used to throw lavish parties in Guwahati for people from Assamese movie industries in the luxurious hotels in the city. The attendees of the party were lured through expensive gifts by the fraudster. Sumi Borah helped him in getting clients and Phukan used to reward her with a commission. With the help of the actress, Bishal got a good number of clients who invested money in online trading to get higher returns.”

Borah and her husband were on the run following Phukan’s arrest and finally, they surrendered before the police in Dibrugarh. Phukan, Sumi Borah and her husband were lodged in Dibrugarh Central Jail.