Laxman defrauded by scamster

Kolkata - Police in eastern India said on Thursday they have arrested a 28-year-old man suspected of siphoning off a million rupees ($16,000) from the bank account of retired cricketing star V.V.S Laxman.

Laxman, who retired from international cricket in 2012, lodged a police complaint at the weekend over unauthorised activity after receiving a message that the money had been transferred.

The deputy commissioner of police in Salt Lake, a town near the city of Kolkata where the man was arrested on Saturday, said the money was deposited in an account opened by the suspect in the name of a fictitious company.

"Police are yet to know how he gained access to Laxman's account," Arnab Ghosh said by phone.

The suspect has since been transferred by police to the southern city of Hyderabad, Laxman's home town, where the stylish middle-order batsman lodged a police case.

Laxman is best known for his majestic 281 against Australia at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata in March 2001, when India turned the tables on the world champions after being made to follow on 274 runs behind.

Known by his initials VVS, the cricketer played 134 Tests for India after his debut in 1996, scoring 8,781 runs at an average of 45.97 with 17 centuries and 56 fifties.