Kolkata: Narkeldanga Police on Friday has arrested two men, one of them a key accused from Bantra in Howrah, for stealing a bag containing Rs 20 lakh from a vehicle on Wednesday. Cops recovered more than Rs 1.1 lakh in cash from the accused.
The arrests followed a complaint lodged by a city-based printing press owner, who reported the theft on Wednesday. Cops said the accused had a monetary dispute with victim, and lured him to Narkeldanga before striking. “It is more a case of cheating than of snatching,“ said an officer.
According to cops, the incident occurred on Canal East Road when the businessman was inside his parked car conducting a financial transaction. An unidentified person opened the door, grabbed the bag from the seat, and fled the spot. Cops said the victim was shadowed earlier and that the accused might have been tipped off about the monetary transaction.
Police teams scanned CCTV footage from traffic intersections and commercial establishments along Canal East Road and neighbouring arterial roads to identify the accused’s escape route.
Based on technical surveillance and visual inputs from the footage, and also primary human intelligence, investigators identified a suspect and traced him to Bantra. A team from Narkeldanga Police Station conducted a raid on the location and detained Debarshi Mukhopadhyay.
During preliminary interrogation, police recovered Rs 1,15,000 in cash from his possession. Based on his questioning, another person was nabbed from Howrah soon after.
The accused were produced in court where cops sought custody. They are questioning Mukhopadhyay to trace the remaining amount.
Cops are examining call records and checking past criminal records across Kolkata and Howrah police jurisdictions to check if the accused were involved in similar offenses.