MUMBAI: When an accountant went underground with his employer's money, the police knew they'd have to think out of the box to lure the thief out of hiding. Having learnt from reliable sources that the accused, Vijay Choudhary , was very much active on Facebook and had a soft spot for women, the cops set up a honey trap and caught the bachelor when he turned up to meet a "female" friend.

The case dates back to December last year when Choudhary, who used to work as an accountant in an electronics shop in Kalbadevi, was asked by his employer to deposit Rs 20,000 in Bank of India 's Opera House branch in south Mumbai.

Tejas Souda, who owns Connection and More, asked another staffer, Raees Khan, to drop Choudhary at the bank. While Khan returned to the shop after half-an-hour, Choudhary did not turn up even after two hours. Souda checked with the bank and learnt that Choudhary had not deposited the money. "He tried calling Choudhary on his cellphone, but it was switched off," said an investigating officer.

Souda even sent an employee to Choudhary's house, but he was not there. After waiting for two days, Souda approached the V P Road police and lodged a complaint. Sleuths initially thought that Choudhary was kidnapped for money, but CCTV footage obtained from the bank showed the accountant loitering on the premises for about 15 minutes and then leaving alone without depositing the cash.

With Choudhary having switched off his phone soon after committing the crime, cops were finding it difficult to trace him. "We looked for him everywhere, but he was untraceable," said another investigating officer. "During the course of investigations, we learnt that Choudhary was active on Facebook and was befriending women."

Realizing that the social networking site could help them nab Choudhary, cops decided to log in to Facebook. Posing as a woman, the sleuths created a profile in the name of one Sharmee. "We studied Choudhary's profile and then sent him a friend request, which he promptly accepted," said the investigating officer. In a matter of days, Choudhary fell for "Sharmee" and gave out his cellphone number, which the cops traced to Nagpur.

The cops continued to pose as Sharmee and stayed in contact with Choudhary. After gaining his trust, they asked him come to Mumbai so that the two could meet. "We told him to meet us in Lower Parel," said the officer.

Cops patiently lay in wait at the meeting point and nabbed an unsuspecting Choudhary when he arrived there to meet "Sharmee" on Saturday.