A doctor attached to a government hospital has been duped of Rs 12 lakh after he posted an advertisement to let out his flat on a property-related website.
Police said the fraudsters contacted him posing as a prospective tenant.
The doctor, who wanted to rent out his apartment in Regent Park on the southern fringes of Kolkata, mentioned his phone number in the advertisement on the website. “I received a call in connection with the advertisement. The man who contacted me said he was from the army. There was no apparent reason not to believe him,” the doctor told this newspaper.
The caller convinced the doctor that as the payment would be made from a bank account handled by the army, he had to make a one-rupee transaction to that account first. The doctor transferred Re 1 to the account.
The police said the fraudsters then convinced the doctor to click on a link, through which they got remote access to his phone and made multiple online transactions to transfer around Rs 12 lakh from his account.
The police said they had identified the ATM kiosks from where the doctor’s money had been withdrawn. Officers have contacted the respective banks for CCTV footage of kiosks.
Youth held for molesting teen in Barasat
Police have arrested a youth who attempted to molest a teenager in Barasat in North 24 Parganas district on Thursday when she was alone at her home.
Kayem Molla, who had come to deliver an LPG cylinder, allegedly tried to hold the girl. Her neighbours rescued her upon hearing her scream.