DIBRUGARH: The Dibrugarh Police have sought an additional seven days of judicial custody for 22-year-old Bishal Phukan, the mastermind behind a multi-crore online trading scam that has shaken the region.
Phukan was arrested on September 3 and was initially sent to judicial custody on September 7 after the end of his police remand.
When he was presented before the District and Sessions Judge in Dibrugarh on Wednesday (Sept 18) for the second hearing of his case, the police applied for an extended period of custody for further investigation.
The hearing on the request for extended custody is scheduled for Thursday, and the judge will decide on the matter then.
Meanwhile, three of Phukan’s accomplices, actor-choreographer Sumi Borah and her photographer husband Tarkik Borah, as well as Sumi’s brother Amlan Borah, were also produced before the local court on September 17. The court sent the trio to judicial custody as the police did not seek any further remand.
Sumi Borah and her husband had applied for bail, but their petition was rejected by the court. No bail petition was moved for Amlan Borah. All the accused have been charged under sections 316(2), 318(4) of the BNS 2023, along with sections 21 and 23 of the Banning of Unregulated Deposit Scheme Act, 2019.
Authorities have revealed that the scam, estimated to be worth at least Rs 2,200 crore, operated over the course of nearly three years, luring clients with promises of nearly doubling their investments within 60 days.
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