Kolkata, July 12 (IANS) One member of a gang of looters has been arrested for duping a local businessman of Rs two crore by impersonating as policemen and conducting a raid, said police on Sunday.

The officials said that a search operation has been launched to arrest the rest of the gang members.

The incident took place at the office of a businessman on Pratapaditya Road under the Tollygunge police station area in south Kolkata on Friday (July 10). One member of the gang was arrested on Saturday, and Rs 5 lakh was recovered from him, the police said.

While giving details of the incident, the police officials said that a gang of robbers reached the office of a businessman on Pratapaditya Road on Friday. They introduced themselves to the businessman as policemen. They claimed that there was a large amount of money in the office which had been earned in an illegal manner. The gang showed fake police identity cards and took away the mobile phones of the businessman and his employees.

The fake police officers intimidated and threatened the employees present in the office. They ‘interrogated’ the employees about the cash in the office and found out that there was money in a chest. The employees were forced to open the chest, and the gang members collected the Rs two crore cash and fled.

Within a few hours, the businessmen and office managers, after talking to the police at the Tollygunge police station, realised that the miscreants were fake policemen who had come to loot. Soon, a complaint was filed at the police station in this regard.

Realising the seriousness of the incident, the Kolkata Police’s Intelligence Department and Tollygunge police station officials started an investigation. The looters were identified by examining the footage of the CCTV cameras installed in the area.

According to the police, one of them was arrested on Saturday. The arrested person is being interrogated, and a search is underway to arrest the rest of the gang members. Police said efforts were also being made to recover the remaining looted money.

–IANS

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