Overview
- The Enforcement Directorate has arrested three main suspects in the case — Biswajit Poddar (alias Sona Pappu), former deputy commissioner Santanu Sinha Biswas, and businessman Joy Kamdar — and is building a financial case against them.
- ED teams carried out searches across West Bengal and recovered more than 2 kilograms of gold, significant cash and multiple property documents from residences linked to the suspects, with some locks broken after keys were not produced.
- The agency began formal attachment proceedings for Sinha Biswas’s Murshidabad bungalow after investigators found signs that funds routed through the syndicate paid for renovations and upkeep.
- Nearly 30 Kolkata Police personnel are now under ED scrutiny as officials forensically examine seized phones and documents to recover deleted data and trace domestic and possible overseas assets.
- Investigators say the syndicate used police influence and threats to force mainly elderly owners to sell land at low prices, and the probe will focus on mapping the money trail and identifying all beneficiaries.