Woman held for duping Salt Lake sr citizen of 32.3L
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Kolkata: Police probing a cyber fraud case where a 72-year-old Salt Lake resident lost Rs 32.3 lakh after being duped by a woman claiming to be from the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) arrested the accused on Wednesday.
Accused Ananya Sarkar, who met the elderly woman under the fake identity of Sreeja Roy, convinced her to take a loan against her FD and pay her the amount while promising to settle an old and disputed insurance policy the 72-year-old had.
The arrest followed a complaint lodged by the victim's son, who works abroad, exposing a month-long con targeting the elderly widow over a bogus insurance recovery scheme. According to the complaint, Sarkar, a resident of Agarpara, lured the CL Block resident by claiming she could recover up to Rs 50 lakh from a lapsed insurance policy.
Police said the fraud began in Nov 2024 when Sarkar contacted her and gained her trust by calling her to a swanky office in New Town and even introducing her to a "superior officer" while feigning empathy and promising significant returns. According to the FIR at Bidhannagar East PS, she asked the woman to initially pay a processing fee of Rs 80,000. When the woman said she didn't have cash, Sarkar allegedly convinced her to take loans against fixed deposits, citing processing fees and other fictitious charges.
Over two and a half months — from Nov 19, 2024, to Jan 31, 2025 — Rs 32.3 lakh were withdrawn in 10 separate transactions as the woman handed the cash over to Sarkar, meeting her at different places ranging from shopping malls to bank branches. The fraud came to light in Feb 2025 when the woman's son returned to Salt Lake, overheard a suspicious phone conversation at home, and intervened. Realising his mother was deceived, he recorded video evidence and lodged a complaint on Feb 10.
Following probe, police tracked the accused's real identity and arrested Sarkar from her residence in Agarpara. She was produced before a local court, which granted police four days' custody for further interrogation. "We are interrogating her to find the rest of the gang members. We are also trying to trace the money trail and will try our best to ensure the woman gets her money back," said a senior officer of Bidhannagar City Police.
GFX
72-yr-old Salt Lake woman duped of Rs 32.3 lakh
Accused posed as IRDA representative
Convinced victim to take loan against FD, promised to settle an insurance policy dispute
Money withdrawn in 10 transactions between last Nov and this Jan and handed over to accused
Fraud came to light in Feb 2025 after the senior citizen's son returned to Salt Lake from abroad
Accused held on Wednesday
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