Fresh ED raids in case against Sona Pappu, ex Kolkata Police deputy commissioner

The Enforcement Directorate on Friday conducted fresh searches at multiple premises in West Bengal as part of a money laundering probe linked to arrested Kolkata Police officer Shantanu Sinha Biswas and an alleged criminal Biswajit Poddar alias Sona Pappu, officials said. They said a total of nine premises in Kolkata and Murshidabad are being raided. The premises include those of Mohammad Ali alias Max Raju, Saurav Adhikari, nephew of Biswas, and a "close associate" of Biswas named Ruhil Amin Ali, who is a Kolkata Police Sub Inspector, and Biswas' house in Murshidabad. Poddar was arrested by the ED on May 18 after questioning. Biswas was arrested last week and a local businessman name Joy S Kamdar was arrested in this case by the agency in April.

The ED has earlier said Poddar was a "history sheeter" and that he, along with his associates, was wanted in cases related to land grabbing in West Bengal. His name had first surfaced prominently in 2015 in connection with a violent clash at the Ballygunge rail yard. Investigators said multiple criminal allegations had subsequently surfaced against Poddar, including a murder case in 2017 and an alleged attack on rival Munna Pandey outside the Presidency Jail in 2021.