ED says Banerjee, Bengal Police obstructed I-PAC raids, CM alleges searches to ‘take away’ TMC data

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday accused the Enforcement Directorate of attempting to “take away” the Trinamool Congress’ internal documents and digital data during searches at several locations linked to political consultancy I-PAC in Kolkata and Bidhannagar, PTI reported.

I-PAC has managed the Trinamool Congress’ election campaigns, including in the 2021 Assembly elections.

Earlier in the day, the Enforcement Directorate conducted searches at I-PAC’s office in Kolkata’s Salt Lake area, the residence of the firm’s head Pratik Jain and the office of a trader in the city’s Posta neighbourhood in connection with an investigation into alleged money laundering, The Indian Express reported.

Banerjee arrived at Jain’s Loudon Street residence around noon while the search was underway and stayed for about 20 to 25 minutes, PTI reported. She then came out with a green file and claimed that the central agency’s officials were seizing party documents ahead of the Assembly polls.

West Bengal is expected to head for polls in the next three to four months.

“Is it the duty of [Union] Home Minister Amit Shah and the ED to take away all my party documents?” Banerjee asked. “If I go to the Bharatiya Janata Party office, what will be the result?”

On the other hand, the Enforcement Directorate accused Banerjee of entering Jain’s residence and taking away “key evidences including physical documents and electronic devices”.

The central agency stated that searches had been conducted in a “peaceful manner” until Banerjee arrived at the site.

The searches were based on a first information report filed by the Central Bureau of Investigation into an alleged coal smuggling syndicate that was used to “steal and illegally excavate coal from ECL [Eastern Coalfields Limited] leasehold areas of West Bengal”, the Enforcement Directorate said.

It added that Banerjee’s convoy went to the office of I-PAC, where she and her aides, along with the state police personnel, “forcibly removed physical documents and electronic evidences”.

The actions have “resulted in obstruction” in the investigation and proceedings under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, the ED said.

The agency said that the “search is evidence-based and is not targeted at any political establishment”, adding that no party office had been searched.

It also denied any links to elections and claimed that the action was “part of regular crackdown on money laundering”.

Meanwhile, the West Bengal chief minister alleged that the ED was confiscating TMC’s “documents and hard disks, which has details about our party candidates for Assembly polls”.

“I have brought those back,” she said.

She also claimed that ED had “raided my IT sector office, and searched the residence of the in-charge of my IT sector”.

The chief minister later went to I-PAC’s Salt Lake office, accompanied by state minister Sujit Bose and Bidhannagar Mayor Krishna Chakraborty, as Trinamool Congress workers gathered outside the building.

Kolkata Police Commissioner Manoj Verma and Director General of Police Rajeev Kumar also visited the locations where the searches were taking place, according to The Indian Express.

The Enforcement Directorate moved the Calcutta High Court on Thursday, alleging “illegal interference” during its operations, ANI reported. The matter is scheduled to be heard on Friday.

BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari criticised the chief minister’s visit to Jain’s residence and the I-PAC office, calling it “unconstitutional”, the newspaper reported.

“I-PAC is a corporate organisation,” the leader of the Opposition in the Assembly said. “They tried to interfere in an investigation by a central agency. ED should take legal steps against the chief minister. I-PAC is not a party office. Why should party documents be there?”