A man and a woman have been arrested for allegedly forging the letterheads of two state ministers and an MLA and using fake stamps promising the complainant possession of two flats, police said.
The woman named Mou Guha had allegedly impersonated a Trinamul MLA’s secretary and convinced the complainant that she would be able to get her possession of two flats — one in Gariahat in south Kolkata and the other at Baishnabghata Patuli Township on the southern fringes.
An officer of Tollygunge police station — where the case has been registered — said the complaint had been lodged against Guha and a man, Nimai Naskar, for alleged cheating, forgery, fraud and criminal conspiracy. They were arrested on Saturday.
“The alleged fraud happened sometime after May 17 when the two accused persons in connivance with their associates managed to convince the complainant that they were in touch with senior government officials. They would help the complainant with all the documents needed to lawfully take possession of two flats in government quarters,” said the officer.
The duo allegedly used forged documents like property allotment letters, loan sanction letters bearing seals, stamps, watermarks and signatures of various departments of the West Bengal government that bore purported signatures of ministers and an MLA, the police said.
The accused convinced the complainant to pay Rs 1,61,971 and hand over a gold necklace worth Rs 65,000 against the procurement of the two residential flats in government housing at 28/1 Gariahat Road and Block E, Baishnabghata Patuli Township.
“The fraudsters also took a loan of Rs 50 lakh from the complainant. However, a few weeks later the complainant realised that she had been cheated as neither the flats was handed over to her nor was the Rs 50 lakh refunded,” said an officer of the South division.
A senior officer said all the documents that the duo had handed over to the complainant were checked and found to be forged when the respective government offices were contacted.
“After verification of the documents, we arrested the woman and the man. We are probing who else was involved in the fraud...,” said one of the investigators.
The duo was produced before Alipore court on Sunday and has been remanded in police custody.