A man dressed in camouflage clothing resembling army fatigues drew the attention of a traffic policeman near Fort William on Monday night.

He was later identified as a security guard employed by a private agency in Haldia.

The man, identified by police as 29-year-old Akash Sonar, was arrested on charges of impersonation and cheating after allegedly posing as an army officer.

Sonar was detained on Kidderpore Road by a team from Army Intelligence and taken inside Fort William for questioning.

After several hours of questioning, army officers reportedly found nothing suspicious in his background and released him. He was subsequently handed over to Kolkata Police.

“This man was detained on Monday night by a traffic cop in front of the South Gate of Fort William. He was wearing something that resembled the army's camouflage uniform. Initially, he pretended to be an army officer. On being questioned by the officials of the Army Intelligence, he admitted that he was engaged as a security guard with a company in Haldia in East Midanpore,” said an officer of Hastings police station.

The police initiated a suo motu case against Sonar and charged him with sections of impersonation, cheating and criminal conspiracy.

Sonar lives in Natunpara in Muktapukur, under the Titagarh police station area in Barrackpore, the police said.

Investigators verified his identity through the Haldia company. The impersonation case was registered only after his credentials had been confirmed.

“Wearing a police or army uniform to impersonate them is a punishable offence. Many people often commit this offence to cheat people by misusing the authority of the uniform,” a senior police officer said.