A group of five, including three teenagers, from Bihar who were staying in rented apartments in Shapoorji Housing Complex in New Town in northeast Kolkata were arrested on Thursday for duping people by posing as cops and extorting money with threats to implicate them in a sex racket.
One of the five is a minor, police said.
The gang used to call up people at random and tell them that their names had emerged in the investigation of a sex racket and they must shell out money to clear their names.
“One of the five had called the complainant and introduced himself as an inspector of Kolkata police and demanded money,” said Bidisha Kalita, deputy commissioner (cyber), Kolkata police.
The fraudster had introduced himself as “Inspector Rabindranath” and demanded Rs 1 lakh from the complainant.
The four adult accused were identified as Pankaj Kumar, 26, Avinash Kumar, 28, Rohit Kumar, 19, and Prince Raj, 19, all residents of Bihar.
Seven mobile phones with SIM cards and three ATM cards were seized from them, the police said.