Image showing handcuffs and the word 'fraud'. For representational purposes.
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Guwahati: Assam BJP's SC Morcha secretary Ashim Kumar Das and two others have been arrested for allegedly duping several companies of nearly Rs 8 crore by issuing fake government work orders, police said on Wednesday.
Guwahati Police Commissioner Diganta Barah said there is every likelihood that these fraudsters have cheated many businessmen by using the same modus operandi, the details of which will be revealed during further investigation.
Besides Ashim Kumar Das, two others, identified as Birinchi Borkotoki and Niranjan Das, were arrested from Guwahati on Tuesday, while another accomplice, Deba Prakash Bhagawati, has already been arrested by the CID in another such fraud case, he told reporters here.
Ashim Das is the secretary of the Assam BJP's SC Morcha and has close ranks with several ministers and senior leaders, including the state party chief Bhabesh Kalita.
Borkotoki, a retired publicity officer of Directorate of Small Savings, posed as B N Sarma, joint secretary for 'Adivasi Welfare & Development Council', Barah said.
The actual name of the body is Adivasi Development Council under the Department of Tribal Affairs (Plain).
Niranjan Das was a broker, who arranged entry passes for entry into the Secretariat for holding meetings at one of the conference halls with representatives of the duped companies, he added.
The police commissioner said that the gang duped Noida-based Prontastic IT (Pvt) Ltd. of around Rs 4 crore by issuing a fake work order for supplying 75,000 bed sheets and pillow covers for BPL families in the 'Adivasi Welfare and Development Council'.
They also defrauded Bengaluru-based Manpho Exports by issuing a fake work order for supplying GR items to the Assam State Disaster Management Authority worth Rs 3.77 crore, he said.
Ashim Kumar Das posed as a representative of 'Adivasi Welfare and Development Council'. He is part of a seven-member gang of fraudsters, who have been duping several businessmen by using this modus operandi of showing fake work order and then convincing businessmen to participate in the supply contract, he added.
Explaining the Noida-based firm's case, Barah said, "The work order initially shown was for an amount Rs 250 crore for supplying different materials to the council. The accused convinced the complainant that the contract can be obtained without formally participating in the tender process and that it will be managed by the accused persons."
"The accused also convinced the complainant that there will be huge profit margins in the contract. As convinced by the accused persons, the victim showed interest in getting the supply contract and decided to first take only the supply of bed sheets and pillow covers amounting to around Rs 4 crore," he said.
The 41-year-old BJP leader took the businessman to a minister's bungalow in the Ministers Colony to meet a person, who introduced himself as B N Sharma, the joint secretary, he added.
The complainant was also taken to the Secretariat complex in a luxury SUV for a meeting with fake senior officials in the conference hall of one of the ministers, Barah said.
"The documents in question have been seized. The work order and purchase order used for duping the informant have been established as fake. Bank transaction details have been collected and scrutinised wherein transactions between complainant and accused party are reflected," he added.
The police commissioner said that technical analysis revealed the involvement of accused persons and further investigation is on.