Sushil, Saket Mohta ‘grabbed land’ using ‘forged documents’, ‘false chain of title’: Why ED raided Merlin Group in Kolkata

In a major crackdown in poll-bound West Bengal, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Wednesday raided seven premises linked to Merlin Group in Kolkata as part of a money laundering probe into an alleged land grabbing case.

The raids were conducted on the residences of Sushil Mohta and his son Saket Mohta, as well as other properties at Prince Anwar Shah Road and in Salt Lake. Sushil and Saket are the promoters of the Merlin Group.

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How Sushil and Saket Mohta “grabbed land”, attracted public investments using “forged documents”

According to ED officials, the accused allegedly fabricated a “false chain of title” using “forged documents” to claim ownership over land parcels.

The central probe agency believes that these forged documents were allegedly used to commercially “exploit” the grabbed land and subsequently develop real estate projects.

By projecting themselves as legitimate owners, the accused allegedly attracted public investments worth crores of rupees. They also allegedly misled the investors into funding real estate projects on “grabbed land”.

According to ED sources, the accused allegedly siphoned off “illegally occupied” funds abroad and may also have routed part of the proceeds to influential individuals.

The current ED move is reportedly linked to an ongoing probe into land grabbing and financial irregularities.

Last week, ED officials recovered ₹1.2 crore in cash from the office of Joy Kamdar, owner of Sun Enterprise in Ballygunge. On the same day, raids were also conducted at the Ballygunge residence of Biswajit Poddar, also known as Sonapappu, a local political worker, where a firearm was recovered.

According to ED sources, the searches are part of the same investigation.