Guwahati: Assam GST officials ramped up their investigation into a 25 crore fake Input Tax Credit scam on Thursday, July 23. Agents from the GST Intelligence and Enforcement Unit raided a timber shop in Barazar, located in the Barama area of Baksa district. The shop belongs to Trishna Barman, the primary suspect behind the operation.
Authorities allege Barman ran a web of shell companies to generate fake invoices and siphon tax credits. Two accomplices, Surajit Barman and Shubrajit, remain at large. Officers are currently tracking both men.
The GIEU previously apprehended Trishna Barman at a Siliguri hotel in West Bengal. A three-day intelligence-led search tracked her down after she spent days moving between locations to dodge capture. The arrest involved the GIEU and the Assam Police Special Task Force, commanded by Monuj Kr Dowari. Barman, an MBA graduate from Bengaluru, is the first suspect ever apprehended outside Assam by the state GST department for such a fraud.
Officials described the arrest as a significant milestone. They are now pouring over documents seized from the timber shop to map out the rest of the criminal network. Barman is currently in transit to Guwahati for interrogation as the state continues its push to expose the full scale of the racket.
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