The heat is on for a key figure in Kolkata’s police hierarchy. The Enforcement Directorate ramped up pressure on Deputy Police Commissioner Shantanu Sinha Biswas by issuing a lookout circular on Tuesday, amid an intensifying money laundering investigation.
Sources reveal that Biswas, seen as a close confidant of Mamata Banerjee, ignored several ED summons linked to two laundering cases. His no-shows at the Salt Lake zonal office, coupled with untraceable movements—even from family—raised red flags, especially post-TMC’s election debacle in West Bengal.
Fearful of a border dash, ED invoked the lookout mechanism to bar his exit from India. This stems from a massive racket exposing shell companies and crooked deals in prime real estate. ED’s recent house raid on Biswas turned up leads, but he dodged the operation.
The plot thickened with Joy Kamar’s arrest, a local tycoon whose interrogations spotlighted his cozy bonds with Biswas. Kamar allegedly greased palms with lavish gifts to top cops and kin, securing undue favors. This influence peddling fueled sham FIRs targeting property owners, enabling illicit takeovers.
Despite last month’s residence search and follow-up notices, Biswas remains elusive. The ED’s aggressive stance underscores a crackdown on entrenched corruption networks blending business, bureaucracy, and politics in Bengal.
With elections fresh in memory, this saga spotlights vulnerabilities in law enforcement integrity. As ED closes in, Biswas’s fate could expose deeper malaise, urging reforms to safeguard public trust in policing.
