CBI takes over investigation of 41 online trading scam cases in Assam: CM

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Tuesday said that the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has officially taken over the probe of 41 cases of the online stock trading scam registered across the state.

"To ensure a fair investigation on the online stock trading scam, we requested Govt of India to formally hand over all 41 registered cases to the CBI," he said in a post on X.

"The CBI is officially taking over this matter and the state government will extend all possible support to ensure that justice is served at the earliest," said Sarma, who also holds the Home portfolio.

The online trading scam in the state came to light during the last week of August when investors, who had put in huge amounts of money in 29-year-old Deepankar Barman's company, complained that he had not paid them the due returns and his office has been closed since August 21. He is absconding at present.

The Assam cabinet in September decided to transfer 32 cases registered till then in connection with the online trading scam to the CBI for investigation, Sarma had said.

Chief Secretary Ravi Kota had also discussed the matter with CBI Director Praveen Sood, who assured that the process of taking over the cases would be initiated soon.

Several firms, promoted mostly by men and women in their 20s, allegedly raised hundreds of crores of rupees from people across the state on the promise that they would get huge returns by investing in the stock markets.

However, these firms started to fail to repay investors over the last few months.

Over 65 people have been arrested in connection with the scam so far and 14 SITs were set up to investigate the cases registered across districts under the Banning of Unregulated Deposit Schemes Act, 2019, besides the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.

An Assamese actor, choreographer and social media influencer Sumi Borah and her photographer husband Tarkik Borah are among those arrested in the scam so far.