Overview
- In an Article 32 petition, the Enforcement Directorate seeks a CBI or independent inquiry and the restoration of devices and documents it says were removed during January 8 searches.
- The West Bengal government has filed a caveat in the Supreme Court to avoid any ex parte orders, while related petitions by ED and TMC are listed in the Calcutta High Court for January 14 after an adjournment.
- Kolkata Police registered FIRs against ED and CAPF personnel alleging trespass and theft, as ED accuses state officers of obstructing its operations.
- ED says it conducted 10 searches in Kolkata and Delhi as part of a coal-smuggling money-laundering probe and alleges about Rs 20 crore reached I-PAC’s Goa operations via hawala channels.
- The presence of the chief secretary and other senior administrators alongside the chief minister at the search sites has drawn criticism from former bureaucrats and opposition leaders.