Agartala: A clever approach by women run Self Help Groups (SHG) helped the Police to arrest a fraudster woman accused of deceiving gullible villagers promising high returns. She, later, fled away from her village with the collected money to evade repayment, said police.
The accused woman, Aseema Bhowmik, a resident of Atisa village that comes under the limits of Puran Rajbari police station of Belonia, allegedly borrowed a huge sum of money from different SHG groups mainly operated by women with a promise of high returns.
One fine morning, she fled the village and despite repeated attempts, she could not be traced. After months, the duped villagers came to know that she was staying in Kolkata. They established contact with the woman and lured her with lucrative offers.
Driven by her weakness for money, the accused landed at the MBB Airport Agartala on Saturday and locals took her to the village forcefully. She was held captive for hours by the locals at the Panchayat Samiti office.
On being informed, the local Block Development Officer along with the officer in charge of PR Bari reached the spot but failed to placate the irate crowd of women.
About a thousand women gathered in the area and administrative officials were barred from entering the premises. Later, reinforcement was called and she was arrested with the help of women cops. On Sunday, she was produced before the Court and subsequently awarded one day police custody.
Police said the accused had borrowed money from 15 prominent Self Help Groups in the area.
“She collected Rs 21 lakh as loan in three months with a commitment of high interest rates. But, all of a sudden she left her house. The locals later visited the house of her parents in Melaghar under Sepahijala district of Tripura. They came to know that after a brief stay there, the accused woman left for Kolkata,” said police.
According to the police, a case was registered against her under Indian Penal Code section 420 and 406 with PR Bari Police Station.
“The deceived SHG members later tricked her to return and after that she was brought to the village. An investigation is underway in connection with the case,” said police.
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