Sources in the Enforcement Directorate (ED) Saturday said the investigating agency has seized several incriminating documents and digital evidence in its probe into the Kolkata land grab case.
According to the sources, the three accused in the case – Biswajit Poddar alias Sona Pappu, former Kolkata deputy commissioner of police Shantanu Sinha Biswas, and businessman Joy Kamdar, all of whom are now in custody – allegedly operated a syndicate that used to intimidate senior citizens in Kolkata into selling their land below market value, and then developing those properties.
As per the investigators, Sona Pappu used to intimidate the target, and then Sinha, through the local police, threatened the victim, forcing them to sell the property to Joy Kamdar at a lower price.
In its bid to further unravel this land-grabbing syndicate, the ED Friday raided the premises of businessman Mohammad Ali alias Max Raju, Biswas’s nephew Saurav Adhikari, a “close associate” of Biswas and Kolkata Police Sub Inspector Ruhil Amin Ali, and the Biswas house in Murshidabad.
The raids had been reportedly carried out based on the information provided by Sona Pappu and Biswas during the interrogation.
According to ED sources, they have also seized a diary containing details of monetary transactions and gifts given to Biswas and other police officers in return for their help in land grabbing.
“The ED is trying to look into the money trail. Moreover, the ED is not only looking at properties owned by Biswas within the state… It is also investigating a lead that Biswas has properties in Dubai… Chats, call records, and other information were found deleted in several seized mobile phones. Efforts are being made to recover that information with the help of digital forensic experts,” said an ED source.
ED officers said several other Kolkata Police officers are also under the scanner for their alleged involvement in the land-grabbing nexus. According to sources, the agency has identified about 30 such officers of various ranks.
Sona Pappu was arrested by the ED on May 18 after questioning. On May 14, Biswas was held after 10 hours of marathon questioning, and Kamdar was arrested in this case in April.
Sona Pappu is a “history sheeter” and is an accused in several cases of land grabbing in West Bengal. He has been in and out of jail ever since he joined the construction business in 2010-11.