The police have arrested four persons, including a police driver, from Burdwan for attempting to sell a “genie in a bottle” to a resident of Baguiati near Kolkata.
A Baguiati resident, Tapas Roy Choudhury, received a call from a friend informing him that a ghost, who would do anything for him and turn all his wishes into reality, was available for sale, police said today.
The friend also said that he could introduce Mr Roy Choudhury to the seller, if he was interested.
Mr Roy Choudhury discussed the matter with another friend Basudeb Kundu and decided to have a look at the ghost. He then informed the friend about his willingness to purchase it.
The seller himself then called up Roy Choudhury and told him that the price of the ghost is Rs. 10 lakh, police said.
An appointment was fixed and Roy Choudhury and Kundu came to Burdwan town. Four persons escorted them from Ullas More to a hotel in a vehicle bearing a police sticker.
The four showed them a small soft drink bottle with a Re 1 coin in it and said the ghost was inside the bottle. They also demanded the price for the ghost.
When Roy Choudhury told them that he had no money, the four forcibly took Rs. 600, all the cash that Mr Choudhury and his friend had at that time, and locked them up in the hotel room.
Police said Mr Roy Choudhury somehow managed to contact a friend who informed the Burdwan police and the four were arrested. One of the four is a police driver.
The arrests were made on Thursday night and a local court released them on bail yesterday.