Assam court dismisses bail plea of actress Sumi Borah

Guwahati, Dec 2 A court in Assam's Dibrugarh district on Monday rejected the bail plea of controversial Assamese actress Sumi Borah, her husband Tarkik Borah, and Bishal Phukan in the multi-crore online stock trading scam.

The primary accused in the online fraud, Bishal Phukan and Tarkik Borah, got bail from Gauhati High Court in the previous week as the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) could not file the charge sheet within 60 days of their arrest.

However, the accused duo could not walk out of the jail as several cases were pending against them.

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma earlier said that no accused in the online trading scam can walk out of jail as several cases are pending against them.

Chief Minister Sarma said, "There was a technical problem in the matter. The CBI usually files a charge sheet within 90 days of arresting any accused person but the Gauhati High Court observed that the charge sheet must be filed within 60 days. On this ground the Court granted bail to a few accused persons; however, they can not walk out of the jail as the central probe agency will move to the apex court against the bail order."

"Moreover, there are several cases filed against the accused persons in the online trading scam and the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) has been investigating them apart from the cases given to CBI," he added.

Bishal Phukan allegedly used Sumi Borah's network in the Assamese movie industry to successfully get a handful of clients.

Bishal Phukan used to throw lavish parties for the artists and they were lured by expensive gifts to invest in the online trading business.

An online trading scam amounting to Rs 2,200 crore was busted in Assam in September after Bishal Phukan, the kingpin of this fraud, was arrested from his Dibrugarh residence.

Sumi Borah and her husband Tarkik Borah, the accused in the trading scam, surrendered before the police later.

Source: IANS