ED Enforcement Action: Notorious Land Mafia Sona Pappu Arrested

KOLKATA: After remaining at large for nearly three months, notorious Ballygunge promoter and land mafia Biswajit Poddar, alias Sona Pappu, has finally been netted by the Enforcement Directorate (ED). On Monday morning, he arrived at the ED office in Salt Lake's CGO Complex to comply with a summons, where he was subjected to marathon questioning. Following an intense interrogation lasting over nine hours, the central agency arrested him late Monday night on charges of non-cooperation and attempting to mislead investigators.

According to investigating officers, Sona Pappu had been running an organized crime syndicate for over a decade across South Kolkata's Kasba, Tiljala, and Topsia areas. He faces multiple allegations, including forcible land grabbing, extortion, and funneling black money into real estate projects. Just a few days ago, the ED had arrested Kolkata Police Deputy Commissioner (DC) Shantanu Sinha Biswas and businessman Joy Kamdar in connection with the same case. Detectives claim to have found evidence of direct financial transactions between Sona Pappu and the senior police officer. Operating under the protective umbrella of influential figures, Pappu had built a massive financial empire. Earlier, ED raids at his hideouts had yielded ₹2 crore in cash, firearms, and a massive cache of illegal property deeds. The central agency will produce the accused in a special court today and seek his custody for further interrogation.