Three men in their 30s went on a spree of duping traders in a bid to raise funds to revive their sagging business.

But they ran out of luck on Friday, when they were rounded up by the police, following a complaint lodged by the owner of a television shop.

According to police, the amount the three had duped their victims of totals more than Rs 30 lakh.

Deputy commissioner of police (central) Rajiv Kumar said Indrajit Ghoshal, 37, Subhasis Roy, 38, and Joydeep Dutta, 36, had suffered huge losses in their mustard oil business.

To tide over the reverses and bring the business back on track, they had chalked out a plan to dupe businessmen, especially those dealing in colour television sets.

?All three are graduates and from good families. During interrogation, they admitted to cheating traders to raise money for the revival of their business,? Kumar added.

Their modus operandi came to light following a complaint lodged by the owner of a TV shop on Chowringhee Road on Thursday.

The three visited the shop on January 31 and introduced themselves as New Zealand-based businessmen.

They bought 150 colour TV sets, worth Rs 15 lakh, and paid by a cheque.

Initially, the owner was hesitant to accept the cheque, but the three tried to convince him by saying that they could not pay such a huge amount in cash. The owner finally agreed, and, as told by the three, delivered the consignment at 5/2, Lake Gardens.

The owner deposited the cheque the next day. But four days later, he was informed by the bank that the cheque had bounced.

The owner rushed to the Lake Gardens address and asked the three to pay the entire amount in cash.

Realising that they had been exposed, the three pleaded with the shop-owner to give them a fortnight to clear the dues.

But they failed to keep the promise, prompting the shop-owner to lodge a complaint with New Market thana.

Investigations revealed that the trio had sold the TV sets at prices 25 to 40 per cent less than the market rate. Police raided the Lake Gardens address seized several documents and cheque books.

?It was a well-planned act. Some traders came to us following the arrests and said they, too, have been duped by the three,? said an officer of New Market police station.

The accused were produced at Bankshal court on Friday afternoon and remanded in police custody till April 7.