Kolkata, 15 May (H.S.): The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has arrested Kolkata Police Deputy Commissioner Shantanu Sinha Biswas after prolonged questioning in connection with the Sona Pappu case. The central agency took him into custody late on Thursday night and he is scheduled to be produced before a court on Friday.

Confirming the arrest on Friday morning, an ED official said that Biswas had been “completely non-cooperative” during the investigation, which led to his arrest.

According to sources, Biswas was questioned at the ED office at the CGO Complex in Kolkata from Thursday morning. After more than 10 hours of interrogation, he was arrested around 10 p.m.

The ED had earlier summoned Biswas multiple times for questioning in connection with the Sona Pappu case. However, he allegedly avoided appearing before the agency on several occasions. The investigating agency had also conducted searches at his residence. Sources said that he had been summoned in multiple cases by ED offices in both Kolkata and Delhi. In one such case, he had approached the Calcutta High Court after receiving a summons.

Due to his repeated absence during questioning, the ED had also issued a lookout notice against him to ensure that he did not leave the country. Sources in the agency claimed that evidence of certain financial transactions between Biswas and Sona Pappu as well as his close associates had surfaced during the investigation. Documents recovered from businessman Jay Kamdar, who was arrested in a financial irregularities case, reportedly also contained references to Biswas.

Notably, last month the ED had raided Biswas’s residence on Fern Road in connection with the investigation into the Sona Pappu case. The search operation had continued from early morning till late at night. Biswas was not seen publicly during the raid. The following day, the ED had summoned Biswas and his two sons, Sayantan and Manish, to appear at the CGO Complex, but none of them turned up.

In April, the ED had also summoned him in connection with a sand smuggling case. However, instead of appearing personally, his lawyer had visited the ED office on his behalf. Sources said Biswas had sought time from the agency citing prior engagements. After the Assembly election process concluded, he finally appeared before the ED office on Thursday, following which he was arrested later in the night.

Hindusthan Samachar / Satya Prakash Singh