Biswajit Poddar alias Sona Pappu allegedly grabbed land and properties from owners at lower prices through criminal intimidation and used muscle power for construction work, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) told a court on Tuesday.
There were financial transactions between Poddar and the firms of arrested Behala realtor Jay Kamdar, the central agency told the court.
Poddar was arrested on Monday after nearly 10 hours of questioning by a team of ED officers, the arrest coming less than a month after the central investigating agency arrested Kamdar under provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
“Bank transactions reveal there were dealings between Poddar and Kamdar’s firms in amounts running into crores,” ED’s lawyer told the court during the day.
Sources said a syndicate comprising Poddar, Kamdar, and a section of police officers used to ensure that properties were bought at a price much lower than the prevailing rate.
“A land parcel measuring 18 kottahs was bought by Poddar in 2022 for ₹1.39 crore but its prevailing price was ₹5.42 crore,” said an ED official.
Poddar’s counsel asked why no complaints were lodged against him.
ED’s lawyer replied that Poddar and others of the syndicate usually targeted senior citizens for grabbing land and other assets while pressing for his custody before the court.
Sources in the central agency said Kamdar, arrested on April 19, is the chairman-cum-managing director of Sun Group, a Calcutta-based conglomerate with interests in real estate, hospitality, and security.
A section of officers said he remained the corporate face for Poddar’s alleged underground operations.