Two men who had been called to the CID headquarters in Alipore for questioning had allegedly sent someone else impersonating one of them.

The duo’s bluff was caught when their curiosity got the better of them and they wanted to check what had happened when the man they allegedly sent was taking more than the usual time to step out.

The two — Romi Hirawat and Varun Laddha — were allegedly found tampering with the visitors’ register at the entrance to Bhabani Bhawan on Wednesday while trying to enter the building where they had sent an impostor hours ago, police said.

Hirawat and Laddha allegedly sent one of their employees, Raktim Chowdhury, to appear before the CID officer posing as one of them. “It appears this was not the first time the two had seen sending an impersonator to the CID, scheduling the visit in a way that the investigating officer of the case in which they are accused would not be at Bhabani Bhawan,” an officer said.

Everytime Chowdhury visited the building, he allegedly signed as one of the accused on the visitors’ register.

“The investigating officer got suspicious about the visits, in response to a court order, because they were timed with his absence. He stayed back to check and... found their bluff,” said an officer of Alipore police station, where the CID has lodged a complaint against the two accused and the alleged imposter.

When Chowdhury did not come out for more than two hours, Laddha and Hirawat decided to enter the building and find out what happened to him.

“While entering the building, they had written their actual names on the register and one of them was found scratching the name Chowdhury had allegedly written a few hours before. They were trying to replace the entry with ‘Raktim Chowdhury’. The sentry immediately alerted officers, who detained Hirawat and Laddha,” an officer said.

All three were arrested. A case of cheating, forgery and criminal conspiracy has been started.