Kasba OC suspended as ‘Sona Pappu’ missing from criminal list

Kolkata: At a time when the Enforcement Directorate summoned alleged criminal Biswajit Poddar alias Sona Pappu following recent raids at his residence, the Election Commission of India has suspended the officer-in-charge (OC) of Kasba police station for not including his name in the list of criminals.

On Wednesday morning, the ED conducted raids at multiple locations in the city in connection with a money laundering probe linked to alleged extortion and organised criminal activities. One of the locations searched was the residence of Sona Pappu, who has reportedly been untraceable for the past two months.

Following a shootout and bombing incident in the Kankulia Road area of Ballygunge under the jurisdiction of Kolkata Police, police had faced criticism for failing to track him, amid allegations of his links with influential individuals.

Sources said Sona Pappu is allegedly involved in several cases related to extortion and criminal intimidation, and is believed to have controlled construction syndicates. The proceeds from these activities were allegedly routed to influential persons. Based on these cases, the ED initiated a probe into the suspected money laundering angle and carried out the raids.

Meanwhile, the Election Commission had directed all police stations to submit lists of known criminals.

During scrutiny of the Kasba police station’s list, officials found that Sona Pappu’s name was missing.