Deepankar Barman, prime accused in Assam trade scam, arrested in Goa after 3 months on the run

Assam Police on Sunday arrested Deepankar Barman, the main accused in the e-commerce scam case in Goa’s capital Panaji. Barman, founder of Guwahati-based DB Stock Broking, allegedly defrauded thousands of investors of Rs 7,000 crore.

During a raid, a team of Assam Police recovered Rs 27 lakh in cash from Barman’s residence in Goa. A multiple e-commerce scam in the state came to light in the last week of August when investors who had put huge amounts of money into 29-year-old Barman’s company complained that he had not paid them refunds they were owed and his office was closed.

“Finally, Dipankar Burman (is) arrested in Goa. The run is coming to an end. Congratulations to @GuwahatiPol team,” Assam Director General of Police (DGP) GP Singh tweeted.

According to another police official, Barman is likely to be produced before a court in Goa on Monday and taken to Guwahati on remand.

“A total amount of Rs 27,06,750 was seized from the house of Dipankar Burman in Goa,” the DGP said in another X post.

Guwahati Commissioner of Police Diganta Barah said the arrest was made by a team led by ACP Amit Mahato.

While more than 65 people have been arrested, including those allegedly involved in similar scams, Barman has been on the run for the past three months. His parents were also arrested in connection with the case.

Assamese actress Sumi Borah and her photographer husband Tarkik Borah were among those arrested in connection with the scam. Earlier, Bartender’s assistant Monalisa Das, also an actress, was arrested.

The Assam government has handed over the CBI probe into 41 cases registered in connection with the scam.

Several companies, mainly promoted by men and women in their 20s, have allegedly raised hundreds of billions of rupees from people across the state on the promise that they will make huge profits through investments in stock markets. However, because these companies failed to repay their investors, the fraud was exposed.

(With inputs from Ritesh Desai in Goa and PTI)