Duping man in Rajarhat: 2 held in Mysuru for duping Rajarhat man of Rs 1.04 crore

Kolkata: Two persons have been arrested from Mysuru, Karnataka, for allegedly duping an elderly man in Rajarhat by posing as police officers and threatening him with a ‘digital arrest’, officers of Narayanpur Police Station said.

According to the complaint, the victim, Sunith Kumar Ray of Sikher Bagan on SCRM Road, received a call on September 8 from someone identifying himself as Vishal Gaikwad of Bangalore Police. After confirming Ray’s identity, the caller transferred the line to another person who introduced himself as Sandip Rao. Ray was told that a mobile number “registered in his name” had been used to send illegal advertisements and harassing messages to the public, which amounted to a criminal offence and could lead to his arrest.

When Ray denied having any such SIM card, the call was allegedly transferred to a person claiming to be from the “crime branch”. He informed Ray that he was now a suspect in a human trafficking case, and that an Aadhaar-linked bank account in Mumbai had received proceeds from trafficking activities.

Ray was told he could either face arrest or opt for a “priority investigation”. Choosing the latter, he was instructed to reach a hotel in New Town on September 9. There, he received a video call and was directed to transfer money, with the assurance that the amount would be refunded after the so-called investigation.

Between September 9 and 24, Ray transferred Rs 1,04,70,000 in multiple instalments. From September 25, the callers became unreachable, prompting Ray to realise he had been defrauded. He then filed a police complaint.

Following the money trail, investigators arrested two persons — Naveen R and Indradhanush J — from Mysuru a few days ago. They were brought to Narayanpur on transit remand on Tuesday.