A woman who lives in Salt Lake and had applied for a job in a private bank was allegedly asked to pay Rs 42,000 as “processing fee” by a man who had called her claiming to be a representative of the bank.
Later, when the man became incommunicado, the woman learned from the bank that they neither made any call nor asked for any money.
The accused, Sukumar Mohanty, was arrested from his home in Ranaghat, in Nadia district, on Monday, almost a year after the woman had lodged a complaint.
Police suspect someone inside the bank had been leaking information to the alleged fraudster about the persons who had applied for jobs.
Mohanty was produced in a Bidhannagar court on Tuesday.
Complainant Supriya Lahiri had applied for a job in the bank in March 2020, the police said.
Three months later, when the city was still under partial lockdown, she had received a call from a man who introduced himself as a representative of the bank. He told Lahiri she had been selected for the job.
“However, she was asked to pay Rs 42,000 as the processing fee for the job. The woman agreed and transferred the amount to a bank account whose details the accused had given her,” said an officer of the Bidhannagar cyber cell where the case was registered.
A few weeks later, the man became incommunicado. The woman visited the bank to enquire and found that she had been cheated by the man.
Following this, she lodged a complaint with the Bidhannagar police in September 2020.
The police started tracking the accused through the bank account where the money was transferred. Finally, they could zero in on Mohanty, who had apparently carried out the fraud during the lockdown period sitting at his home.
“It appears he was in possession of the details of more such candidates who had applied for jobs in the bank. There is a possibility that this woman was not his only victim. We have started a detailed probe into the matter,” said the officer.
Snatching
Burtolla: Four bike-borne men allegedly intercepted an auto that was ferrying a man, introduced themselves as cops and threatened to book the passenger for a crime if he did not pay Rs 2 lakh. The incident happened near Scottish Church College on Monday evening.
When he refused to pay up, the gang dragged him out, tore his shirt’s pocket and snatched Rs 5,000 from him, police said. The man’s shouts alerted passersby, who came to his rescue. Three of the accused were detained and handed over to cops.