Police officer, three others arrested for snatching gold

Four persons, including a junior police officer and a civic volunteer were arrested in

connection with the snatching of one-and-half-kg gold valued at Rs 50 lakh, the police said on Tuesday.

All the four were produced before a local court on Tuesday and remanded to police custody for six days.

The snatching had reportedly taken place here in May, 2019 when the yellow metal was allegedly being taken to

Kolkata from Malda, the police said. A verbal complaint was lodged with the Malda police

after the incident but the written one was submitted six months later in November that year. The police investigation

was launched after it, the police said. Malda superintendent of police Alok Rajoria said the

time gap between the verbal complaint and lodging of the written one had created suspicion and led to the arrest of the

assistant sub-inspector of police, the civic volunteer and two others.

The police said the investigations have revealed that the incident was preplanned by a Kolkata-based businessman,

who was himself present during the alleged snatching and had even lodged the complaint.

The businessman, who is connected with the gold business, had confessed during interrogation that he had

procured the gold from South Dinajpur district for a person and was taking it to Kolkata by road, the police said but did

not elaborate for purposes of investigation. The businessman was among those arrested, the police

added.