An employee of a fishery on his way to his employer’s home to deposit Rs 10 lakh was allegedly robbed by four men posing as cops in central Kolkata on Thursday evening.
Police said the four suspects and the alleged mastermind have been arrested.
“The incident happened on a busy lane off BB Ganguly Street around 6pm. Mohammad Sanamullah, the employee, was going to his boss’s house nearby from an office of the fishery in central Kolkata to deposit the day’s income,” said an officer of Muchipara police station.
“The cash was kept in a white envelope which was inside a blue bag. Four men confronted him and introduced themselves as police officers,” the officer said. The four apparently convinced Sanamullah that it was illegal to carry so much cash and so “seized” the money.
The police said the men took Sanamullah to an empty room, where they pressured him to part with the money. “Before the employee could react or call his employer for help, the four fled with the money,” the officer said.
After being alerted by Sanamullah, his employer Syed Asif Maqsood lodged a complaint with Muchipara police station on Thursday night.
Based on his complaint, a case was started. On analysing CCTV footage of the area, the police are said to have found photographs of the accused.
“Within an hour of lodging the complaint, the police showed Sanamullah a few photographs and they matched with that of the four who were involved in the crime,” said a official of the fishery who did not want to be named.
The suspects — Sunny Hazra, Samar Dutta, Tinku Sahani and Pappu Khatick — were arrested on Friday morning. They are all residents of 167/B BB Ganguly Street.
“The four were rounded up from the crossing of Narkeldanga Main Road and Kabi Sukanta Sarani around 3.30am on Friday. The entire stolen cash was recovered from them,” said deputy commissioner, central, Rupesh Kumar.
Based on the statements of the four, the alleged mastermind, Samir Hajra, was arrested.