Overview
- ED teams searched I-PAC’s Salt Lake office and director Pratik Jain’s Kolkata residence in a probe rooted in a 2020 CBI FIR on alleged coal pilferage and hawala flows.
- Investigators allege a hawala operator routed transactions worth crores to entities including I-PAC, which works on TMC’s campaign and IT operations.
- ED claims Mamata Banerjee entered the search sites with police and removed physical and electronic materials, calling it obstruction and evidence tampering.
- TMC and I-PAC filed petitions seeking restraint on any misuse or dissemination of seized political data, while the ED sought CBI investigation and forensic preservation; the High Court listed the matter for January 14 after an adjournment.
- Mamata led a rally in Kolkata and condemned the raids as politically motivated, BJP leaders accused her of interference, and I-PAC said it remains committed to its work.