Team Herald
PANJIM: Deepankar Barman, the mastermind of the Rs 500 crore Ponzi scheme in Assam, had been hiding in Goa since mid-August before the law caught up with him in Keri, Pernem, on Sunday.
Speaking to O Heraldo, Amit Mahato, Pan Bazar Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) from Assam, said, "He (Barman) was hiding in Goa since August 18, but was constantly changing his location, making it difficult to trace him. He had left Assam much before we registered the first case against him on August 22."
Finally on Sunday, the police apprehended him first in Panjim and then formally arrested him at Keri, Pernem.
"We have recovered Rs 27 lakh in cash from him. He has duped over 10,000 investors across the country.”
Guwahati Police Commissioner (CP) Diganta Barah, who is also investigating the case, said that Barman had spread his network from Assam to Punjab, Andhra Pradesh Telangana, Sikkim and other States through his firm, DB Stock Broking, of which he is the director.
According to Mahato, the Guwahati police team had been looking for Barman in Goa for some time, but he managed to stay one step ahead by frequently changing his location.
“He would stay at one place for four to five days before shifting. He had stayed at Palolem, Agonda, Arambol and Keri. He was a frequent visitor to Goa earlier too and knew his way around here. Since he was paying his hotel bills on time, no one suspected him. We got a lot of support from the Crime Branch of Goa Police to nab him,” Mahato said.
Meanwhile, the Assam Police have secured a transit remand from Pernem Court and will soon transfer Barman to Guwahati. Barman floated the company in 2018 and promised investors high returns of 120 per cent. He disappeared from Assam in August, leaving investors in humongous financial losses, and triggering the police chase that finally saw him in the net on Sunday.