A taxi driver has been arrested for allegedly cheating a Presidency University teacher on the EM Bypass the same way a homemaker was cheated last month — by claiming the currency notes given were of a lower denomination than they were.

Around 7.30pm on October 29, Abhijit Dey, the teacher, had boarded the taxi along with his wife and three-year-old son in front of Hyatt Regency to go to Sonarpur. Near the Rashbehari Connector crossing, the driver claimed the taxi had developed a snag and could not go further. He said the fare was Rs 100. “I gave him a Rs 100 note. He took it and handed me back a Rs 50 note, claiming that I had given him that,” recounted the 45-year-old teacher.

Dey then gave him a Rs 500 note. “The driver, in his mid-40s, played the same trick again. When I asked for the balance, he showed me a Rs 100 note saying I had given him that. I took down the number of his taxi and threatened to lodge a police complaint. He then refunded Rs 400,” said Dey. His complaint at Kasba police station led to driver Pankaj Kumar Jha’s arrest on Sunday.

Alpana Pal was cheated similarly near the Science City intersection last month.