Kolkata: The ED on Thursday conducted searches on at least 10 premises in south Kolkata in connection with a land grab and illegal construction case and seized Rs 1.2 crore from a businessman's home.
The agency on Monday questioned Rashbehari MLA and KMC MMiC Debashis Kumar.
An ED team on Wednesday morning reached the Fern Road home of a muscleman and history-sheeter, Sona Pappu alias Biswajit Poddar. While Pappu was not at home, ED officers carried out the raid. An unlicensed arm was found hidden in a room.
Sona Pappu has been on the run ever since his involvement in a recent violence in the Kakulia Road area. An ED officer said Sona Pappu, who had several allegations of extortion, collected money under the guise of construction work and delivered it to a number of influential persons. Although he was in hiding, he had sent out iftar invitation to several people, including high-profile individuals, said an officer, adding the list of chief guests included several lawmakers.
While the search at Sona Pappu's home was on, another ED team reached the Behala office of Sun Construction group. ED officers said they suspected that the construction company proprietor, Jay Kamdar, had financial links with Sona Pappu. Another team searched Kamdar's residence in Alipore. By afternoon, the ED team found unaccounted-for cash at Kamdar's residence and by evening, it was calculated to be over Rs 1.2 crore.
A team also searched Sona Pappu's close aide Rahul Das's home.