Cyber fraudster in police net for EM Bypass-Maidan car assault
Times of India | 1 December 2025
Kolkata: The woman, who was allegedly abducted, drugged, and molested in a moving car before being abandoned at Maidan on Friday night, was actually a victim of financial fraud.
She had met the man—her alleged tormentor—pleading to get her money back and ended up being kidnapped and molested.
Police have arrested the prime accused, 24-year-old Altaf Alam, from his residence in Garden Reach and are searching for two others, who were reportedly in the vehicle.
The 28-year-old woman filed a complaint on Saturday alleging that three men forced her into a car near Ambedkar Setu around 9 pm on Friday.
She told police she was assaulted and molested for nearly an hour as the vehicle drove around the city. Officers later found her abandoned and heavily drugged on the Maidan. She was taken to Calcutta National Medical College and Hospital, where her statement was recorded.
During the inquiry, officers learned that the woman knew Alam for a little over two months.
According to her statement, Alam promised to arrange a personal loan for her and allegedly took Rs 5,000 from her as a processing fee.
She neither received the loan nor got the money back. For weeks, she pressed him to return the amount.
Police said the woman told them she warned Alam that she would approach authorities if he continued to evade her. On Friday evening, he allegedly asked her to meet him near Ambedkar Setu on the pretext of resolving the matter. When she arrived, she was pulled into the car and driven off.
"She was asking for the money for two months. When she threatened to report the matter, he called her to the spot. Once she reached, she was forced inside the vehicle," a senior Kolkata Police officer said.
Investigators said the woman, who is separated from her husband, was returning from a tuition class when she went to meet Alam. She remains hospitalised and is undergoing treatment.
Police sources also claimed that Alam had links to an inter-state cybercrime network and allegedly helped route fraud money through mule accounts.
Preliminary findings suggest the woman at one point offered her bank account to be used as a mule account but later withdrew.
Officers are examining whether the financial dispute between the two had any connection with this network.
During interrogation, Alam reportedly told police he dragged the woman into the car only to "scare" her and denied drugging or molesting her.
Officers said they are treating these claims with caution and are verifying them through technical evidence.
Investigators are now scanning CCTV footage from East Topsia Road to the Maidan stretch to piece together the sequence of events.
A case has been registered under sections 140(2) (kidnapping), 74 (sexual assault), 123 (administering intoxicants), 115(2) and 118(1) (assault), 351(2) (criminal intimidation), 79 (outraging modesty), and 54 (criminal provocation) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.
Police said they are coordinating with authorities in another state in connection with the suspected cybercrime links .