Kolkata: The Park Street Police have arrested a man for allegedly robbing a forex enterprise employee of foreign and Indian currency worth over Rs 10 lakh after temporarily blinding him with a chemical spray on Sudder Street.
The accused, Amanul Rahman, was picked up from his hideout in Taltala area following a swift investigation. On Sunday, Rahman was produced before the Bankshall Court. While defence counsel Surajit Dutta strongly moved for bail, the magistrate rejected the plea and remanded the accused to police custody until June 18 to facilitate further interrogation and recovery of the looted cash.
According to police sources, the targeted heist took place on the evening of June 10 between 7 pm and 7.30 pm. The victim, Md Nasiruddin, an employee of Skyway Forex Private Limited, was returning to the office with a consignment of cash meant for delivery. As Nasiruddin reached the entrance staircase of the firm’s registered office at Sudder Street, he was suddenly ambushed by the miscreant.
The attacker forcefully restrained Nasiruddin, assaulted him with slaps, and discharged an unidentified chemical spray directly onto his face to incapacitate him. Seizing the moment, the assailant snatched a packet containing foreign currencies from multiple countries—valued at over Rs 8,000,000—alongside Rs 200,000 in Indian banknotes, before fleeing the bustling commercial hub.
Following the incident, Chabilal Sonkar (61), the director of the forex firm, lodged a formal written complaint. Based on his statement, the Park Street police registered a FIR under Section 309(4) (robbery) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023 against unknown miscreants. Officers are currently scanning CCTV footage from the area to ascertain if Rahman acted alone or was part of a larger gang tracking the firm’s cash movements.