Assam: Man arrested in Barpeta for extortion in the name of CM’s Vigilance department

Barpeta Police arrested a man for allegedly extorting money by posing as an official from the Chief Minister’s Vigilance Department.

The accused, identified as Anup Kumar Das and a resident of Dibrugarh, had allegedly demanded a sum of Rs 1 lakh from Mohammad Akram, a resident of Chenga in Barpeta district, under the false pretext that the money was being collected on behalf of the CM’s Vigilance. Police sources said Das was residing at his in-law’s residence in Mirza when he made the extortion demand.

Authorities have initiated an in-depth investigation into the case to determine whether others were involved in the fraudulent activity or if similar incidents have occurred in other districts.

Meanwhile, in a separate development, the Crime Branch on September 6 arrested two individuals allegedly involved in operating a large-scale cyber fraud racket. The accused, Dipankar Das of Nagarbera and Ranjit Kashyap alias Ranjit Tayung, were nabbed from the Garchuk area following a detailed surveillance operation.

According to officials, the duo had been luring unsuspecting victims with promises of easy loans, subsequently opening multiple bank accounts under fake identities to launder the siphoned funds. In one particular case, they allegedly duped a victim of Rs 78 lakh.