One more person has been arrested in connection with the alleged kidnapping of a 23-year-old youth on Saturday evening when he had gone to
meet a woman he had met through a social media platform.
According to police, a group of men had lured him into a trap through a fake social media profile.
The man was forced to pay Rs 41,000 before he was released late on Saturday.
On Sunday, the police arrested one person in this case.
Police suspect that the group is part of a larger racket that targets young men through fake social media profiles.
The man arrested on Monday was identified as Sovan Tarafdar.
“A portion of the extorted money that was paid to the kidnappers had been
transferred to this man’s account. We have found that Rs 20,000 has been transferred to his account from the victim’s account,” said an officer of Haridevpur police station.
The victim, a 23-year-old college student, was approached by a “woman” through social media. She had invited him to meet her at a location in Haridevpur on Saturday evening.
However, on reaching the spot, the youth found a car with five men inside, who introduced themselves as cops.
“The youth was forced into the car and kidnapped. He was threatened with arrest if he did not pay them. The youth used his ATM card to transfer Rs 41,000 from his account. Although the youth was released after he paid up, he started getting ransom calls from the next morning,” said the officer.
Based on a complaint lodged by the youth, police arrested a man named Kukah Som on Sunday and Sovan Tarafdar on Monday.
“Sovan Tarafdar has a car rental service business. The car used for the kidnapping belongs to him,” an officer said.
A senior officer in Lalbazar said the group was part of a big racket that is suspected to have targeted several young men through fake social media profiles of women.
“We always advise people not to get intimate with people they have met only on social media. It is vital to verify the credentials of a person on any social media platform before sharing personal details else the same could be used for blackmailing a person,” said a senior police officer in Lalbazar.