Assam Police question YouTubers in online trading scam case

Assam Police Representation image (Photo:X)


The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of Assam Police on Saturday questioned YouTubers regarding the multi-crore online trading scam involving controversial Assamese actress Sumi Borah.

A YouTuber Aboyob Bhuyan who earlier telecasted a podcast of Borah on his channel told IANS that it was a routine call by the CID for a statement regarding the case.

“They wanted to know whether I have charged anything from the actress for the podcast. I made it clear before the investigating team that we do not charge for podcasts unless it is a promotion for a brand. Moreover, the episode we telecasted a year ago had nothing to do with the online trading scam. Our programme with the actress was primarily about her wedding,” said Aboyob Bhuyan.

He added that they had electronic evidence of the episode available on YouTube which became a talking point in town else there was no other issue.

On Wednesday, Sumi Borah, her husband Tarkik Borah and the kingpin of the multi-crore online trading scam Bishal Phukan were sent to judicial custody.

An online trading scam amounting to Rs 2,200 crore was busted in Assam after Bishal Phukan was arrested from his Dibrugarh residence earlier this month.

The Assamese actress Sumi Borah came under the scanner of police after Phukan’s arrest. Police claimed that Bishal Phukan used Borah’s network in the Assamese movie industries to get clients for online trading on the pretext of giving them higher returns.

Police said that Bishal used to throw lavish parties in Guwahati for people from the Assamese movie industries in the luxurious hotels in the city.

“The attendees of the party were lured through expensive gifts by the fraudster. Sumi Borah helped him in getting clients and Phukan used to reward her with a commission. With the help of the actress, Bishal got a good number of clients who invested a handful amount of money in online trading to get higher returns,” police said.

Borah and her husband were on the run following Phukan’s arrest and finally, they surrendered before the police in Dibrugarh.