Having accumulated close to Rs 100 crore from over 8,000 villagers, a woman in Baksa district's Mushalpur has gone into hiding. On Monday, victims of the fraud filed a complaint against her alleging deceitful intentions to rob unsuspecting investors.

The victims said that they deposited money, mostly in cash, with the accused Mainao Brahma, who told people she would trade with the money return an amount every month. Her promise to pay back at a modest rate lured many unsuspecting villagers to park their savings.

The allegations come amidst similar financial scams surfacing across Assam. Unable to contact the accused for a while, the victims of the scam gathered to register a complaint with Mushalpur police.

One of them said, "She gave us false hope and we deposited money with her. Now we have come to know that this was a scam. She introduced her scheme as a business saying she would trade with the amount. People helped her set up her business. We chipped in whatever amount we had knowing that we will receive a monthly pay."

Several villagers mentioned parking lakhs of rupees with the woman, a resident of Chanbarikhuti village. They showed the blank cheques handed to them, possibly as a show of faith.

They said that the accused Mainao Brahma came from humble beginnings and started trading around seven to eight years ago. "When she started out, she had nothing. No money. Then slowly she accumulated a lot. We have come to know that the amount is close to Rs 100 crore," the victim said.

"They now have two big cars — a Fortuner and a Scorpio. She has plots to her name, under construction houses, tractors and what not. However, when we sought our money back, she said business was down and she would not be able to return the money. She has disappeared since, and we do not know where to find her. That is why we have gathered to file a complaint against her," the victim further added.

Brahma's husband, Samin Swargiary is also accused of being an accomplice. Suspicions arose when Swargiary, who has no specific job, started purchasing assets in their name.

The villagers also mentioned that they had reluctantly accepted their fate, however, as similar cases started to come to the fore from around the state, they decided to approach the authorities to register a complaint.