HT Bureau
GUWAHATI, Sept 4: At least 68 people have been arrested across the state by the police in connection with a massive online trading scam.
This was informed chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Wednesday.
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“68 people who were part of the online trading scam were taken into custody by the police. The investigation is now underway. There will be more information discovered shortly. Nonetheless, I would like to urge the populace to avoid falling victim to fraudsters. Nobody on the planet is able to give 25 or 30 percent commission by trading to any person,” Sarma told reporters in Lakhimpur on the sidelines of a cabinet meeting.
He added that the fraudsters who cheated the public by siphoning off their money were enjoying an opulent existence.
“I hope that TV video has shown the broader public that the scammers used public funds to live extravagant lives,” he added.
The chief minister urged all citizens not to squander their hard-earned money on those swindlers.
Notably, the Assam Police uncovered a large financial scam involving brokers who made false online stock market investments by promising to double people’s money, totalling Rs 2,200 crore, officials said on Wednesday.
Two primary suspects in relation to the crime have been taken into custody by the police: 22-year-old internet trader Vishal Phukan, a resident of Dibrugarh, and Guwahati resident Swapnil Das. However, a number of further arrests have been made in connection with the purported statewide conspiracy, and more are expected to be made soon.
The authorities claim that Phukan promised his investors a thirty percent return on their investment within sixty days while using his opulent lifestyle to lure people in. He had bought other residences, set up four imaginary companies, and invested in Assamese movies.
Documents connected to the multi-crore scam were taken by the police during a raid on his Dibrugarh home.
Meanwhile, police are now looking for Assamese choreographer and actress Sumi Borah, who is also reportedly connected to Phukan’s network. It has been alleged that Phukan spent crores of rupees in Sumi Borah’s wedding in Rajasthan’s Udaipur.
The husband of the actress has also come under the scanner of police and he is also on the run along with Borah.
Meanwhile, both Phukan and Das were produced in the Court on Wednesday and police sought seven days custody of them.
According to sources, actress Sumi Borah might surrender to the police in a day or two. However, police refused to issue any official statement regarding the actress and her husband.
