Guwahati, Oct 28: Guwahati Commissioner of Police Diganta Barah on Monday said a technical analysis conducted by a city police team had helped trace the whereabouts of Dipankar Barman, key accused in the multi-crore online trading scam, who was arrested in Goa on Sunday evening.
Addressing the media on Monday, Barah said the case in this regard was registered at Paltan Bazar in August this year and that five persons were arrested in connection with the scam.
“After thorough investigation, Dipankar Barman was found to be a key accused. So far, we have arrested five individuals, including Barman’s father, mother, his girlfriend and her sister, as well as his chartered accountant,” the city police commissioner said.
“However, Barman had been absconding since August 18 this year. Thereafter, a technical analysis was conducted by our team following which the whereabouts of Barman were traced to Goa. We gathered information on Saturday, and thereafter, a police team from the city left for Goa on Sunday morning and arrested Barman from an area under Pernem police station in the evening,” Barah informed.
The commissioner of police further informed that Barman was arrested from a homestay located in an isolated area, far from the town in north Goa.
“Based on the technical analysis conducted earlier, a city police team had gone to Goa and camped there for about two weeks in search of Barman. There, the team found out that Barman had frequently changed guest houses and homestays during his stay in Goa. However, we could finally gain some information on how he transferred money from Goa, among other evidence. On the basis of that information gathered, and with the support of the Crime Branch of Goa Police, we could arrest him on Sunday evening,” Barah said.
The city police chief however said that certain legal formalities still exist as of now before Barman could be brought to Guwahati from Goa on transit remand.
“There are some formalities to be done before we can bring him to our custody as he had been arrested outside the state. Meanwhile, he has been produced in the court today. Our team will request for transit remand to bring him to Guwahati from Goa,” Barah said.
Notably, Barman, who was evading arrest for over two months, was arrested in north Goa by a team from Central Guwahati Police District (CGPD) led by Assistant Commissioner of Police (Panbazar) Amit Mahato.