Overview
- Enforcement Directorate teams searched I-PAC’s Salt Lake office and director Pratik Jain’s Kolkata residence in a money‑laundering probe linked to a 2020 coal smuggling case, with operations spanning multiple locations in West Bengal and Delhi.
- The agency said the searches were evidence‑based and not political, asserted that no party office was searched, and alleged the chief minister entered two sites and removed files and electronic devices, obstructing proceedings.
- Mamata Banerjee accused the ED and Union home minister of trying to seize Trinamool Congress candidate lists, strategy documents and hard disks before state elections, and said she took back party materials.
- The ED moved the Calcutta High Court alleging illegal interference under the PMLA, while I-PAC and Pratik Jain filed a counter‑petition challenging the raids; both matters were admitted by a single‑judge bench for Friday.
- Political fallout intensified as BJP leaders called the chief minister’s visit unconstitutional and the TMC announced protest plans, underscoring the stakes given I-PAC’s role in the party’s campaign and Jain’s position as TMC IT head.