ED raids on I-PAC offices irk Mamata

CENTRAL AGENCY SAYS IT’S PART OF AN ONGOING PROBE, CM CALLS IT A ‘PLOY’

- PRESS TRUST OF INDIA

THE ENFORCEMENT DIRECTORATE on Thursday carried out searches at the office of the political consultancy firm Indian Political Action Committee (I-PAC) and the residence of its Director Pratik Jain in Kolkata, triggering high drama, as West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee unexpectedly storming into the sites during raids, alleging that the central agency was trying to seize the TMC’s sensitive data ahead of the high-stakes state elections.

In a strong rebuttal, the ED, which maintained that the searches were part of a money laundering probe into an alleged multi-crore rupee coal pilferage scam, accused Banerjee of obstructing a lawful investigation and claimed that she and the state police forcibly removed “key evidence” during the raids.