A television actress has been arrested for allegedly stealing wallets and purses from people visiting the 45th International Kolkata Book Fair.
Police said an officer deployed at the fair was alerted by a commotion around 5.15pm on Saturday and on inquiry, found that a woman was allegedly spotted stealing bags.
The woman — later identified as TV actress Rupa Dutta — was allegedly seen throwing a bag into a dustbin and picking up another from it. Based on allegations from people around her, two women cops went to the spot and detained her for questioning.
“A bag was found on her that had in it five wallets containing Rs 65,760. One of the wallets had an Aadhaar card that is not Dutta’s,” said an officer of Bidhannagar (North) police station.
“Dutta could not explain why she threw a bag into the dustbin and was picking up another from it. She also could not explain from where she got the cash found on her. She has been arrested for theft.”
Police said the actress admitted to have stolen the money from people who visited the fair on Saturday and Friday.
Dutta’s lawyer, Rajdeep Banerjee, denied the allegations. The actress has been remanded in judicial custody.