A Bangladeshi national and a woman were arrested from the airport area of the city for allegedly robbing a man they had targeted through a matrimonial website, police said on Friday.
The victim had recently created a profile on a matrimonial platform and connected with the woman, with whom he developed a “relationship” over phone conversations, an officer said.
“Eventually, they agreed to meet in person at a hotel near the airport in Dum Dum. The man alleged that after consuming coffee prepared by the woman inside the hotel room, he felt unwell and lost consciousness. Hours later, he regained consciousness to find his mobile phone, cash, and bag missing. The woman had vanished,” the officer said.
With the help of hotel authorities, the man lodged a complaint at the airport police station on 27 July. Following this, police collected CCTV footage from the hotel and began tracking the woman through her phone number.
“Our officers posed as potential grooms and contacted her. Using mobile tower location data, she was traced and arrested. During interrogation, she disclosed the identity of her accomplice — a young man who was later arrested from the Dum Dum Cantonment area,” the officer added.
Investigations revealed that the man is a Bangladeshi national. Police recovered his Bangladeshi passport and visa.
“The woman confessed that she would hand over the stolen items to the Bangladeshi man, who would then return to Bangladesh. We are probing whether others are involved in this cross-border racket,” the officer said.