ED starts probe against ex-Kolkata DCP on earnings by ‘fixing’ transfers, postings in police
Kolkata: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has begun a separate investigation against the former Kolkata Police Deputy Commissioner Santanu Sinha Biswas on his earnings made by influencing the transfer and posting of cops in ranks junior to him.
This investigation is in addition to the ED’s ongoing probe into his involvement in a multi-crore land-grabbing case. The central investigation agency filed a supplementary chargesheet against him at a special court of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) in Kolkata.
Sources aware of the development said ED officials have started this new line of investigation following specific complaints that Sinha Biswas influenced transfers and postings in the ranks of sub-inspectors, inspectors, and even assistant commissioner-level officers.
It is learnt that ED’s new line of investigation is probing the matter from two angles. The first is whether by influencing postings of his confidant officers for choicest posts and police stations, Sinha Biswas sought to establish his control over the multi-crore land-grabbing and real estate syndicate. The second angle is to estimate the amount of commission money that he earned by ensuring such choicest and lucrative postings for his subordinate officers.
The central agency sources said that besides allegations of financial corruption, the matter also involves an issue of abuse of administrative authority. Several documents, bank transaction information, digital evidence and testimonies have already been collected by ED’s investigation officials, and an attempt is being made to understand the functioning of the entire network by analysing these.
The supplementary chargesheet was filed last week against Sinha Biswas, land mafia Biswajit Poddar alias Sona Pappu and real-estate promoter Jay Kamdar in illegal land-grabbing cases. The ED has maintained that the main charge against Sinha Biswas was misusing his authority as a former DCP and a close confidante of the former West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and putting pressure on the original land or property owners to sell their land or properties at throwaway prices for real estate development.
As per ED’s initial findings, Sinha Biswas had personally gained a financial benefit of around Rs 3 crore in this illegal land-grabbing case. Sources said that in the supplementary charge sheet, the ED has also claimed that Sona Pappu, Jay Kamdar and Sinha Biswas used to conspire together to seize land.