The ED initiated the process of attaching a palatial bungalow belonging to former Kolkata police deputy commissioner Santanu Sinha Biswas in Murshidabad district following his arrest in connection with the alleged Sona Pappu land grab and fraud case, a senior official of the central probe agency said on Saturday.
Enforcement Directorate (ED) sleuths on Friday conducted searches at Sinha's ancestral property in Murshidabad's Kandi town after breaking open the locks of the house, as the keys were allegedly unavailable for hours.
Simultaneous raids were also carried out at multiple locations in Kolkata, including the residence of a sub-inspector and the house of businessman Atul Kataria in Chakraberia.
During the searches, investigators recovered more than 2 kg gold, estimated to be worth nearly Rs 3 crore, along with large amounts of cash and several property-related documents, sources in the agency said.
The agency is probing allegations of illegal land acquisition, cheating and criminal conspiracy linked to the case. During the investigation, Biswas' alleged links with accused Sona Pappu also surfaced, he said.
The former police officer's ancestral house in Kandi, located in ward 8 of the municipality area, had remained in a dilapidated condition a few years ago before it was transformed into a lavishly renovated property within a short span of time, the ED official said.
Investigators suspect that large sums of money allegedly provided by Sona Pappu were used for maintaining and upgrading the house.
Kandi Block Land and Land Reforms official said around 50 decimals of land are registered in the name of Biswas.
"We have handed over all relevant land-related documents sought by the investigating agency," Biswas told reporters.
The ED official said they have also traced several other properties allegedly linked to the former officer.
Locals claimed Biwas visited the house occasionally, while his sister Gouri Sinha Biswas, vice-chairperson of the Trinamool Congress-run Kandi Municipality, stayed there regularly.
According to investigators, three rooms of the house were under her supervision, while several locked rooms used by Sinha yielded important documents during the searches.
ED officials said the sprawling property was equipped with seven two-ton air-conditioners, high-speed broadband connectivity, CCTV surveillance and an eight-foot boundary wall topped with barbed wire.
"Technical evidence suggests the premises were being remotely monitored from Kolkata through mobile-linked surveillance systems," the officer said.
The agency is now examining the seized documents and digital evidence to ascertain the extent of the alleged financial irregularities and property transactions linked to the case.