Guwahati (Assam): The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Thursday filed a chargesheet against accused persons in the 'Dibrugarh Investment Scam Case' before the Special CBI Court, Guwahati.
The chargesheet against the accused Bishal Phukan, Abhijit Chanda, Sumi Bora, and Tapon alias Tarkik Bora marked a crucial step in the ongoing investigation into a large-scale financial fraud, within the 90 days period of the arrest of the accused persons.
According to an official release, this is one of the Assam Investment Scam cases which are being investigated by the CBI at the request of the Government of Assam. The instant case was earlier registered by Police Station -Dibrugarh, Assam dated September 2 against Bishal Phukan on allegations that he is engaging in a financial scam in contravention of RBI/SEBI guidelines.
It was alleged that he induced individuals to enter into notarized agreements with promises of high returns on investments, depositing their money into his own Demat account contrary to SEBI guidelines.
He allegedly misappropriated the funds for a lavish lifestyle, thereby defrauding his clients, the general public, who fell prey to his scheme.
As per the release, the investigation, conducted by the CBI has unearthed substantial material evidence against the four accused persons.
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"Investigation has established that the accused were involved in orchestrating an illegal deposit scheme that solicited funds from investors under false pretence. They used deceptive means, including notarized stamp papers and falsified investment reports, to lure investors with the promise of guaranteed 30 per cent returns. They cheated the investors and misappropriated the deposits for their personal gains," the release said.
The bail application of the accused Sumi Bora, in connection with this case was rejected by the Special Judge for CBI Cases of Guwahati on November 19 and she continues to be in judicial custody.
It may be recalled that CBI, on the request of Assam government has taken over the investigation of 41 cases in Assam pertaining to allegations of deceiving investors in the irregular Deposit Scheme including the instant case.
CBI has also filed a chargesheet in one of the cases against accused Monalisa Das on November 18.
The release also mentioned that since taking charge, CBI has accelerated its probe, conducting fresh searches across 93 locations in five states/UT. These searches have led to the seizure of mobile phones, desktops, hard drives, and laptops.
During the investigation, the CBI successfully traced databases containing details of depositors who were deceived into investing in these unregulated deposit schemes.
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"In one particular case involving AJRS Marketing Pvt. Ltd., CBI has apprehended Gopal Paul, the primary accused, who had been evading authorities since the registration of the FIR. He was located at a hideout in Siliguri, where incriminating evidence was also recovered," the release said.
It has been alleged that, since 2018, the accused persons collected substantial sums of money from several depositors by offering guaranteed returns.
In return, they provided depositors with documents executed on Rs 100 stamp paper as proof of the transactions. However, over the past months, many depositors reported irregular payments, with several failing to receive their promised returns altogether.
Further investigation in various cases is continuing. (with Agency inputs)
