Bengali actress Rupa Dutta was arrested on charges of pickpocketing at the Kolkata International Book Fair on Saturday. Authorities said they detained and questioned her after a policeman saw her disposing of a purse in a dustbin after which they detained and questioned her. During their interrogation, they found Rs 65,000/- from Dutta's bag and many more purses. Known for her appearances on television soap operas, the actress admitted that she was pickpocketing in the book fair while adding that it was not the first occasion she indulged in this activity. Officials also came across a diary in her bag which had her detailing her activities.
According to reports, Dutta's diary carried names of a few of the crowded places in Kolkata. Suspicion arose after the police observed her movement in the book fair venue when she began dumping money bags and purses in the dustbin. Authorities later found several purses from her bag and apprehended her. A case under section 379/411 of the Indian Penal Code has been filed against Dutta, the police said in a statement. "The fact of the case, in brief, is that in the course of performing R.T. duty on 12.03.2022 at 17.15 hrs, he (the SI)had been to Kolkata Book fair and found chaos going on at the said fair. On intervening, he found that the aforementioned lady was stealing money from a purse. Accordingly, she was arrested and on search several purses containing money amounting Rs. 65,760 was found. On asking she failed to produce any reason for having many purses with her," an official stated.
Dutta's bail plea was rejected when she was produced in court on Sunday and was later placed under judicial custody for a day. In her statement to the court, the actress explained that she was disposing of the contents in a cold drink bottle when she had come across a bag that was lying on the dustbin. She further stated that she lifted the bag and it was at that moment when the police arrested her. Dutta pointed out that the bag the authorities searched was the one that she had taken from the ground and not hers.
Rupa Dutta is known for her appearances in serials in the Bengali television industry, while also featuring in a few Bollywood ventures. She identifies herself as the state president of West Bengal Karni Sena on her social media pages. Dutta had previously accused acclaimed Hindi filmmaker Anurag Kashyap of sending her inappropriate text messages, which were later found to have been sent from another person named Anurag.
