An assistant sub-inspector and a constable of Kolkata police were arrested on Friday for their alleged involvement in robbing a central Kolkata businessman in June. Last month, two more personnel of Kolkata police were arrested in connection with the case. Senior officers at Lalbazar identified the accused cops as assistant sub-inspector Joydip Roy and constable Ranvir Singh.
The special branch cops were attached to the police housing board unit on deputation. They have been charged under IPC sections of kidnapping, cheating and robbery, like their two colleagues who were arrested earlier, Debasish Das and Amiyo Upadhyay. The arrests came a day after two constables and a civic volunteer attached to Ekbalpore police station were arrested for their alleged involvement in an almost similar case.
The trio were allegedly involved in kidnapping a man who was on his way to the bank to deposit Rs 33 lakh and robbing the money. The alleged victim, an employee of a private company, was handed the money by his employer.
He was allegedly taken to a hotel room, beaten up and robbed before being taken to Ekbalpore police station. It was only after directors of the company reported the alleged robbery and assault that a case was initiated.
The alleged robbery for which Singh and Roy were arrested on Friday was reported in June. The complainant — a businessman from Taltala — mentioned in his complaint that he was on his way to the bank in Burrabazar to deposit Rs 1.25 crore when he was robbed.
Minutes before he could enter the bank, two men approached him saying they were cops and needed to search his bag. The businessman and a few others who were accompanying him were whisked into a car which had a “Police” board on it. “They were dropped at various locations after the money was taken,” said an officer. The police said nine persons had so far been arrested in the case.