A woman’s wallet was picked from her bag that she had kept in a trolley along with her purchases while shopping at a department store in Tollygunge on Sunday.

A man pretending to be a shopper was caught on CCTV camera picking the wallet from inside the woman’s bag.

Police have initiated a probe based on a complaint lodged with Regent Park police station by the woman.

“While entering the store, I had seen this man near the gate and found his movements suspicious. But then I thought he might be a store employee who was counting the stock,” said the woman who did not wish to be named.

The woman, who was accompanied by her two sons, said she had kept her bag, with the wallet inside, in a trolley. “My elder son was standing a little away while my younger son was near the trolley. I was getting some items weighed and just at that moment my younger son went towards his brother. The wallet was picked in those few moments,” she said.

The theft was spotted around half an hour later, when the woman’s six-year-old younger son felt thirsty and asked for water. She opened her bag to take out a bottle and realised the wallet was missing. The mother and the sons had just stepped out of the store.

The wallet had Rs 2,500 cash and a Metro smart card, the woman said in her complaint.

The woman alerted the store management and was shown the CCTV footage, where she spotted the man, with a helmet in a hand, fiddling with the trolley for a few seconds and then picking the wallet from her bag.