A family that went out of the city during Durga Puja, leaving their pet — a Persian cat — at a creche in their neighbourhood, discovered upon their return that the cat had allegedly been exchanged.

Based on the family’s complaint, police arrested the creche owner on Saturday, charging him with theft and criminal breach of trust.

The cops said the family — residents of Regent Park near Tollygunge — had left their two-and-a-half-year-old Persian cat at a nearby creche while they would be out of station between September 29 and October 9.

“When the family returned on October 9, the creche officials gave them a grey cat whose colour matched their pet. However, a few hours later, they realised that it was not a Persian cat. They returned to the creche to report the mistake but were instead told that the cat they were handed over was their own,” said an officer of Regent Park police station.

The police said the Persian cat is worth around ₹3.5 lakh.

The family lodged a complaint at Regent Park police station, based on which Kolkata Police started a probe.

During the preliminary inquiry, the police found that only one Persian cat had been deposited at this creche in the last few days, and this cat was now missing.

They said that the creche officials were allegedly not cooperating. It was suspected that the cat had either been sold off or misplaced.

“The creche owner was booked when he failed to give satisfactory answers about the missing Persian cat. He has been arrested under charges of theft and criminal breach of trust,” said the officer.