Daijiworld Media Network - Kolkata
Kolkata, Nov 13: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Thursday provisionally attached immovable assets worth Rs 2.78 crore belonging to former Kolkata Police Deputy Commissioner Santanu Sinha Biswas in connection with a money laundering and corruption case involving alleged land-grabbing syndicate leader Sona Pappu.
The attached properties include three flats in Kolkata and a plot of land in Kandi in Murshidabad district. The properties are owned by Biswas, his family members and associates.
Biswas held several key positions in Kolkata Police during the previous Trinamool Congress government. He had also served as the officer-in-charge of Kalighat police station, under whose jurisdiction the residence of former chief minister Mamata Banerjee is located.
The ED arrested Biswas in May in connection with an alleged money laundering racket linked to land grabbing. He is currently lodged in jail.
According to the ED, its investigation revealed that proceeds of crime were generated through alleged extortion, illegal occupation of real estate properties and unauthorised building construction by entities controlled by Biswajit Poddar alias Sona Pappu, Jay S Kamdar and their associates.
Biswas is accused of receiving financial benefits worth several crores of rupees from private entities and businessmen in exchange for extending illegal favours during his tenure.
The agency alleged that Biswas developed close links with Kamdar while serving as the officer-in-charge of Kalighat police station and assisted him in illegal activities. It further claimed that Kamdar enjoyed considerable influence within the police establishment through his association with Biswas.
The ED stated that Biswas directly and indirectly acquired, concealed and possessed proceeds of crime amounting to at least Rs 2.89 crore.
Kolkata Police has also registered a separate case against Biswas on its own initiative under the Prevention of Corruption Act.
Biswas has been accused of colluding with Sona Pappu and businessman Jay Kamdar in an alleged racket involving the illegal occupation of several valuable plots of land in Kolkata over an extended period. According to the allegations, he misused his official position to intimidate and harass vulnerable landowners into surrendering their properties.
The ED has claimed that the alleged syndicate grabbed land in different parts of Kolkata and generated proceeds of crime worth at least Rs 50 crore.
In July, the agency filed a charge sheet in the land-grabbing case, alleging that it had found evidence directly implicating Biswas in the misappropriation of around Rs 3 crore.
The latest attachment of assets worth Rs 2.78 crore comes as the ED continues its investigation into the alleged money laundering, corruption and land-grabbing activities.