A resident of Lake Town in northeast Kolkata received a call from an unknown number and was told that she could revive a “lapsed insurance policy” by paying a nominal amount.
As told, the woman downloaded an app on her phone for the payment and shared the passcode with the caller, and soon lost Rs 14 lakh from her bank account, police said.
A man who the police identified as Mithun Mondal, a resident of New Town but originally from Kachukhali in South 24-Parganas district, has been arrested.
The woman lodged a police complaint on February 14.
“According to her complaint, she received a call from an unknown number. The caller introduced himself as an official of a reputable insurance company and told her that one of her insurance policies with an hefty amount as ‘sum assured’ had lapsed. She was told that the lapsed policy could be revived and she could still claim the benefits, but for that she needed to pay a nominal amount as tax,” said an officer of the Bidhannagar police commissionerate.
The woman apparently agreed to make the payment and was told to download an app on her mobile phone and share a passcode. Within a few minutes of doing that, Rs 14 lakh was debited from her bank account, the police said.
During the investigation, the police found that the money had been transferred through multiple bank accounts. Three bank accounts were identified and frozen with Rs 7 lakh in them. The money has been seized.
Mondal, the accused who was arrested, was produced in a Bidhannagar court on Sunday and remanded in police custody. A senior police officer said the cops were trying to find out whether Mondal was operating alone or was part of a larger group.
