Kolkata, May 23 (IANS) The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has begun preparations to attach the residence of former Kolkata Police Deputy Commissioner Shantanu Sinha Biswas at Kandi in West Bengal’s Murshidabad district, an insider in the central probe agency said on Saturday.

Shantanu had already been arrested by the ED in connection with a criminal-linked syndicate case.

On Friday, ED officials broke open the locks of Shantanu’s residence at Kandi and carried out an extensive search operation there. Simultaneously, searches were also conducted at several locations across Kolkata.

During the single-day operation, the ED recovered around two kilograms of gold. Besides, a substantial amount of cash, mobile phones and property-related documents were also seized.

Shantanu hails from Kandi, where his ancestral house is located. He had earlier served as the Officer-in-Charge (OC) of Kalighat Police Station and is a resident of Ward No. 8 under Kandi Municipality.

According to the insider, ED officials reached the residence on Friday and waited outside for nearly two-and-a-half hours before breaking open the locks to enter the premises. The search operation continued for several hours.

Local sources claimed that Shantanu’s main residence in Kandi had earlier been in a dilapidated condition.

However, over the past few years, it was transformed into what locals described as a “palatial” structure almost overnight.

Notably, Shantanu’s sister, Gouri Sinha Biswas, is the Vice-Chairperson of the Trinamool Congress-led Kandi Municipality.

Following Shantanu’s arrest, the sprawling residence at Kandi had become the subject of intense public curiosity.

According to ED sources, the agency is now preparing to seize the property.

Central agency officials examined various documents related to the house and also questioned Shantanu’s family members. Preparations for the seizure process have already begun.

ED officials on Friday also conducted searches at three locations in Kolkata in connection with the Sona Pappu case.

Searches were carried out at the residence of a Sub-Inspector (SI) of Kolkata Police in Kasba and at the house of businessman Atul Kataria in Chakraberia. It has been alleged that links between them and Sona Pappu had surfaced during the investigation.

Apart from this, an ED team also visited Royd Street in central Kolkata.

In total, search operations were conducted at nine locations. According to ED sources, nearly two kilograms of gold were seized during Friday’s operation alone, with the estimated market value pegged at around Rs 3 crore.

Besides this, cash amounting to Rs 10 lakh was also seized.

ED sources claimed that most chats and other information had been deleted from the mobile phones recovered during the searches. Officials are examining whether the deleted data can be retrieved.

Questioning and further investigation in the matter are continuing.

–IANS

sch/pgh