Police in Malda have arrested a man on Saturday for impersonating a food safety inspector in a bid to collect cash from traders.

Sources said that Goutam Dutta, who is from Bhakuria under Behrampore police station of the neighbouring Murshidabad district, reached the local market in Baishnabnagar of Malda on Saturday, posing as a food safety inspector.

Dutta, sources said, started visiting shops selling foodstuff and asked the owners to show licences issued by government agencies.

“He even told some of them to get their licence renewed against cash. However, some traders, who knew that such renewals are done only online, asked for his identity card which he could not produce. They detained him and informed the police and the food safety department,” said a source.

Officials of the department reached the spot and confirmed that Dutta was not an employee of the department.

Soon, a police team reached the marketplace and arrested him. “We will produce him in court and appeal for custody to gather more information from him,” said a police officer.

Dutta denied the charges.

The food safety department, sources said, will also conduct a separate probe. “We want traders to be alert to such frauds,” said an officer of the department.