BALURGHAT: A major online investment scam has come to light in South Dinajpur’s Harirampur, involving crores of rupees and a man allegedly posing as an Anti-Crime Bureau official.
Acting on a series of written complaints, the Harirampur Police arrested Debashis Das, son of the alleged mastermind Kabir Mohan Das, who is currently absconding.
The accused, Debashis Das, 26, hails from Mushkipur in Harirampur’s Barogram area. Police sources said that on Friday night, a large group of victims from North Dinajpur, South Dinajpur and Malda gathered at the accused’s residence. When they couldn’t find Kabir Mohan, they detained his son Debashis.
Police arrived shortly after, rescued him from the mob and formally arrested him. According to complaints, Kabir Mohan Das and his son allegedly lured hundreds of people into investing in foreign cryptocurrency via a fake online platform. Posing as a high-ranking officer of the Anti-Crime Bureau and flashing a fake ID, Kabir gained the trust of unsuspecting investors. He often travelled in luxury vehicles and operated a chain-marketing network across three districts—North Dinajpur, South Dinajpur and Malda—through local agents.
Victims were promised multi-crore returns in a short time. Preliminary investigations suggest over 2,000 individuals fell prey to the scam, losing their life savings. With the collected money, the accused reportedly purchased multiple properties within and outside the state. As the scam surfaced, Kabir Mohan \ Das disappeared.
Debashis, now in five-day police custody, claimed ignorance, stating: “My father was running a coin business through a mobile App. I had no involvement.”
Speaking on the case, Gangarampur Sub-Divisional Police Officer Dipanjan Bhattacharya confirmed: “A case has been registered under specific sections of fraud. The investigation has begun. Agents were employed in three districts to trap victims. Multiple written complaints have been received. We are trying to trace the main accused.”