Guwahati: Bishal Phukan and Swapnanil Das, two main accused in a significant online trading scam in Assam, were granted bail on Tuesday by a special CBI Court.
Das’s attorney informed reporters, “We are awaiting the certified copies of the bail order, which will clarify the conditions set by the court.”
Sources suggest that delays in the investigation and filing of charges may have contributed to the bail decision. Phukan and Das were incarcerated in September.
Just last week, the CBI court denied bail to controversial actress Sumi Borah, who is also implicated in the scam. Her lawyer argued that she had been cooperating with the inquiry, but the court ruled against her release, noting the central agency’s opposition to her bail plea.
Phukan allegedly leveraged Borah’s connections in the Assamese film industry to attract clients, hosting extravagant parties and offering costly gifts to entice them into investing in the online trading venture.
The Assam state government has transferred 41 related cases to the CBI. The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of Assam has provided crucial information to CBI officials regarding the scam.
Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma announced that the CBI would investigate these 41 cases of the multi-crore online trading fraud, which was exposed in September with the arrest of Phukan at his residence in Dibrugarh. Sumi Borah and her husband Tarkik Borah later surrendered to the police after being on the run since the scam’s revelation, with their ties to Phukan becoming evident.