A man staying in a rented apartment in New Alipore had opened six bank accounts in the names of relatives and friends where money allegedly siphoned off from the Assam chief minister's relief fund was deposited, police said.

Around ₹50 lakh had been siphoned off through 11 cheques, bearing the forged signature of the Assam chief minister, that were deposited in a bank in Bangalore, the police said.

The money was credited to six accounts in a New Alipore bank.

The accused, Rakesh Singh, was arrested by a team comprising officers of the Assam Chief Minister Special Vigilance Team and Kolkata Police on Wednesday.

The superintendent of police, Assam Chief Minister Special Vigilance Cell, Rosie Kalita, said Singh was produced in a court in Calcutta on Thursday. "It is a very sensitive matter. I cannot divulge more about it," said Kalita.

Chief public prosecutor Sourin Ghosal said the accused had been granted three days’ transit remand.

Sources said Assam police learned about the fraudulent withdrawal of money after coming across unauthorised transactions. A case was registered under the Prevention of Corruption Act and IPC sections related to cheating, forgery and criminal conspiracy in January.

Singh, 32, originally from Arrah in Bihar, was allegedly instrumental in opening the bank accounts where the money was deposited. Officers said notices have been sent to the addresses of the accounts’ owners.

"All six bank accounts had a common alternative mobile number. The SIM card (of the number) was issued in the name of Subhankar Sanpui. We tracked down Rakesh Singh, who was using the SIM card. Identity documents of Subhankar Sanpui were found in Singh’s house. The documents were all forged,” said an officer.

The police said Singh had been doing temporary jobs in Calcutta, such as driving app cabs and working as a delivery boy for a food aggregator.