An elderly resident of Kaikhali was allegedly duped out of Rs 2.6 crore after he received several calls that promised him high rent for space to install cellphone towers, police said on Friday.

Officers from the Bidhannagar commissionerate’s cyber crime police station, acting on a complaint lodged by Dharmadeb Mondal, first arrested Nirupam Mukherjee, 34, a resident of Rajarhat.

Based on the information provided by him (Mukherjee), the police raided a call centre operating from a building in the BBD Bag area.

Twelve persons, who were placing similar calls, were arrested during the raid, a senior officer of the commissionerate said.

According to the officer, Mondal received several calls in April. The callers identified themselves as representatives of telecom companies looking for space to install cellphone towers.

Mondal paid around Rs 2.6 crore in various instalments to mobile wallets and bank account numbers after the callers convinced him to pay various charges like “registration fee”, “no-objection fee” and “GST charges”. They also sent him some papers with logos similar to those used by a top telecom and broadband internet service provider.

“These were given to him to gain his trust. He was also sent forged agreement documents. However, no tower was installed. Mondal then lodged a police complaint,” an officer said.

Badana Varun Chandra Sekhar, joint commissioner, headquarters, Bidhannagar Police Commissionerate, said Mondal had sold a parcel of his land, emptied his savings account and took loans from family and friends to raise Rs 2.6 crore.

Those arrested from the call centre and Mukherjee had received training to place calls posing as representatives of top telecom firms, the officer said. They targeted mostly the elderly, women and people living in the districts and other states.