Kolkata, July 10 -- The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Friday filed its first supplementary chargesheet against the suspended Kolkata Police Deputy Commissioner (DC) Shantanu Sinha Biswas in the special Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) Court at the Bichar Bhavan, detailing a multi-crore property-grabbing and extortion racket.
The 114-page document, which includes statements from 26 witnesses, accuses the senior officer of acting as the kingpin of an organised crime syndicate. The agency has tracked financial transactions worth over Rs three crores directly linked to illegal land deals.
According to sources, Sinha Biswas allegedly remained completely uncooperative during interrogations since his arrest on May 14 this year. The federal probe reveals that Sinha Biswas allegedly misused his official position and influence of his relation with the then ruling party to help notorious history-sheeter Biswajit Podder alias Sona Pappu and businessman Jay Kamdar.
The syndicate used local police stations to file fabricated complaints against legitimate property owners, forcing them to surrender their land at a very low cost compared to its actual value. The court has considered the chargesheet while the suspended Kolkata Police DC remains in judicial custody. ED is likely to file another chargesheet soon against Poddar as well.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.