Kolkata, Nov 12 The Enforcement Directorate on Thursday provisionally attached immovable assets worth Rs 2.78 crore of former Kolkata Police deputy commissioner Santanu Sinha Biswas in a money laundering and corruption case involving city-based strongman Sona Pappu, officials said.
The attached properties of Biswas, his family members and associates include three flats in Kolkata and a plot of land in Kandi in Murshidabad district as proceeds of crime, the federal agency said.
Biswas held several important positions in Kolkata Police during the erstwhile TMC rule, and had also served as the officer-in-charge of Kalighat police station, an area where former chief minister Mamata Banerjee resides.
He was arrested by ED in May this year in connection with an alleged money laundering case linked to a land-grabbing racket, and is currently lodged in jail.
“ED investigation has revealed that the proceeds of crime were generated through illegal activities, including extortion, grabbing of real estate properties, unauthorised building construction through entities controlled by Biswajit Poddar alias Sona Pappu, Jay S Kamdar and associates,” an agency statement said.
Biswas is accused of receiving financial benefits running into multiple crores from various private entities and businessmen in exchange for extending them illegal favours while in office.
“During his tenure as the officer-in-charge of Kalighat, he (Biswas) developed a close association with Jay S Kamdar and assisted him in illegal activities. Kamdar enjoyed massive clout within the police establishment through his association with Biswas.
“Biswas directly and indirectly acquired, concealed and possessed proceeds of crime to the tune of at least Rs 2.89 crore,” the statement said.
Meanwhile, Kolkata Police has suo motu registered a separate case against him 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, Biswas used his police 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 ED filed a charge sheet in the land-grabbing case, alleging that it found evidence directly implicating Biswas in the misappropriation of around Rs 3 crore.
(PTI News)
