A septuagenarian and his 67-year-old wife have been allegedly duped of Rs 1.5 lakh by a relative who assured the elderly man of hassle-free admission to SSKM Hospital for his cardiac ailment.

Ranjan Kumar Basu, 73, and wife Sabita, who live at Regent Estate, realised they had been duped when they turned up at the hospital on Saturday afternoon with the documents given to them by Biswarup Ghosh, the relative. The couple are childless.

“All the papers were forged,” an officer of Bhowanipore police station said. “The accused is at large.”

Raghunath Mishra, medical superintendent-cum-vice principal of SSKM Hospital, lodged a complaint with the police station after examining the documents the couple had produced. He named Biswarup in the complaint.

Basu, who was a vigilance officer at the West Bengal State Electricity Distribution Company Limited, was admitted to the hospital on Saturday afternoon.

Basu’s nephew Biswarup had allegedly promised him a bed in the Woodburn Ward of SSKM, the only ward in the state’s premier referral hospital with paying beds.

“There are 10 beds with a daily tariff of Rs 2,500 and six with a daily tariff of Rs 4,000 in the Wooburn Ward. Biswarup had apparently promised Basu a bed in this ward,” an official of the hospital said. A patient has to pay the tariff for three days upfront for a bed in the ward.

“Biswarup asked me for money for booking paying beds and some other tests. He gave me forged bills. I was told the sum would be refunded. I gave him Rs 1.5 lakh and he gave me documents which he said were signed by officials in the health department and SSKM,” the elderly man alleged.

Basu said he started suspecting Biswarup as he kept deferring the admission date. On Saturday, he arranged for an ambulance and asked Biswarup to accompany him to SSKM.

“He tried to dissuade me from visiting the hospital. When I insisted, he boarded the ambulance. He got off at the hospital gate saying he needed to withdraw some money. I have not seen him since,” Basu said.

“Basu did not need admission as his cardiac condition and other problems are related to his age. But we admitted him to the Woodburn Ward,” an official of the hospital said.