Two women in their 20s have been arrested in the Tollygunge area for allegedly robbing a man who had come from Cooch Behar to meet one of them after befriending her on Facebook, police said.
The man, who had apparently been chatting with the “friend” for months, was asked by her to book a hotel in Calcutta and meet her there, the police.
“He booked a room in a hotel in New Town, where the woman and her friend went to meet him on July 26. The two women allegedly served him drinks laced with sedatives and fled with his money and valuables,” an officer of the Bidhannagar police said.
The women have been identified by the police as Piu Mitra and Ankita Guha.
When the man woke up the next morning, he discovered that he had been robbed of his cash, gold chain and watch. He lodged a complaint with Eco Park police station.
Bidhannagar police said CCTV footage from the hotel showed the two women who were allegedly involved in the con job.
After tracking the complainant’s social media profile, the police zeroed in on the woman who had allegedly lured him into the trap.
“We used technology to track the device from which she had logged into her Facebook account. Our sources were then activated to locate the woman. She was found
to be a resident of the Tollygunge area. Her friend was also found there,” said the
officer.
The police arrested both women on Tuesday and are said to have found that they had multiple social media profiles from where they contacted men to befriend them, apparently for cheating.
The accused were produced in court and remanded in police custody for three days.
“We have taken them into custody. We will examine them to find out more details,” said deputy commissioner, detective department, Bidhannagar commissionerate, Biswajit Ghosh.
The police said the mobile phones of both women have been seized.
“They have multiple social media profiles with different names. It appears they had targeted many through social media. However, we have not received any other complaint till now,” said an officer of the cybercrime cell of the Bidhannagar police.
A police officer said many who fall prey to such fraudulent activities refrain from approaching the police fearing social stigma.
“Such rackets or activities can be stopped only if the victims promptly report the matter to the police. But unfortunately many do not approach the police fearing
embarrassment,” said an officer.