Two key accused get bail in Assam online trading scam case
Guwahati: Two key accused – Bishal Phukan and Swapnanil Das – in a multi-crore online trading scam that rocked Assam got bail on Tuesday in a special CBI Court.
Advocate of the accused Das, told reporters here, “We are yet to receive the certified copies of the bail and once we get it, the conditions laid down in the bail order by the Court can be understood.”
Sources said that the delay in filing chargesheet by the investigative agency might be the reason behind the bail orders.
Both Phukan and Das were lodged in jail in September this year.
Earlier, last week, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) court dismissed the bail plea of controversial actress Sumi Borah who is in jail for her alleged involvement in the trading scam.
The hearing went on for a few hours and the counsel of Borah argued that she had been cooperating with the investigation; however, the judge in the special CBI court observed that Borah could not be released on bail and the central probe agency already opposed her bail plea.
Bishal Phukan allegedly used Borah’s network in the Assamese movie industry and he was successful in getting a handful of clients.
Phukan used to throw lavish parties for the artists and they were lured by expensive gifts to invest in the online trading business.
To recall, the state government has handed over the 41 cases related to the online trading scam to the central agency.
Meanwhile, the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of Assam Police handed over key information regarding the online trading scam to the CBI officials.
Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma earlier announced that the CBI would be investigating 41 cases pertaining to the multi-crore online trading scam.
“We have filed 41 cases against the online trading fraudsters. The state government decided to hand over all of these cases to the CBI. I spoke with Union Home Minister Amit Shah about this, and he agreed to let the CBI probe the scam. I went to Delhi to apprise him about the latest development,” he had said.
An online trading scam amounting to Rs 2,200 crores was busted in Assam in September after a kingpin of this fraud, Bishal Phukan was arrested from his Dibrugarh residence.
Sumi Borah and her husband Tarkik Borah, accused in a trading scam, surrendered before the police later.
The couple was arrested after they surrendered in Dibrugarh. Notably, the duo was on the run since the huge scam surfaced and it was revealed that Borah was well connected with Bishal Phukan in this scam.