A Calcuttan received a call saying it was from the local gas dealer and he would get ₹5,500 as arrears of the subsidy for LPG cylinders from the time of the pandemic.

In the 10-minute conversation, Chetla resident Naba Kumar Manna, 54, lost ₹1.25 lakh on March 13, police said.

“I have had an LPG connection from the centre and had no reason to suspect the caller. First, he said the subsidy amount of ₹19.5 has increased to ₹220 and I would receive the arrears of ₹5,500 for the period of the pandemic,” Manna told Metro on Wednesday.

Later, the phone call shifted to a WhatsApp video call, Manna said. “The person gave me instructions to type a few numbers. He gave the impression that money would be credited to my account.”

After a few moments, Manna realised that three transactions of ₹88,888, ₹11,111 and ₹24,999 had been made and the money had been deducted from his account. “I panicked and told the man that money was being deducted from my account. The man convinced me that it would be refunded.”

Sensing foul play, Manna rushed to the gas dealer’s office but found it had not opened. He went to the godown and learned that no such call had been made. He lodged a complaint at Chetla police station.

A state government official, Manna said the money was transferred to the account of a person named Bhashanu Bauri. “I thought it was Bishuda (from the gas dealer’s office). Later, I realised it was a scam.”

The cops said no one was arrested till Wednesday evening.