A man who was trying to purchase foreign currency was cheated by a group that allegedly handed him a bag full of pieces of paper instead, police said.
The police received a complaint from Ajoy Kumar Shah, a resident of Nitya Ghosh Street in Watgunge, who said he had been cheated out of Rs 1.15 lakh that he had paid to get an equivalent amount in foreign currency notes.
“The complainant said he had paid the accused persons Rs 1.15 lakh on August 31, but they apparently handed him a bag containing bundles of ordinary paper cut in the size of currency notes and fled. The incident took place at Zinjira Bazar in Taratala,” said an officer at Taratala police station.
The police said they collected footage of a CCTV camera installed near the spot where the money changed hands and identified the three accused.
The police have arrested Mohammad Mintu, 40, a resident of Baguiati; Mohammad Rafik, 27, also from Baguiati; and Ismail Sheikh, 22, a resident of North 24-Parganas.
The police said around Rs 1.13 lakh of the stolen money was recovered following the interrogation of the three.
All three were produced in court and remanded in police custody till October 16. They have been booked under IPC sections on cheating and criminal conspiracy.