I-PAC Raid: Big showdown outside Amit Shah's residence, Delhi Police detain Mahua Moitra and other TMC MPs

Delhi Police on Friday detained Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra and some of her colleagues as TMC parliamentarians staged a protest outside the office of Union Home Minister Amit Shah, opposing the Enforcement Directorate raids at the office of political consultancy firm I-PAC in Kolkata.

"Yesterday, entire India, Bengal witnessed how ED was misused by the Home Ministry. The ED was sent to steal our party's political, strategic information. Mamata Banerjee is a lioness, she protected our party's properties," said Moitra, who was seen sitting with a placard alongside her TMC counterparts.



The protest saw TMC MPs accusing the Centre of using central investigative agencies to target the opposition during election periods, a charge the BJP has consistently rejected. Police intervention followed as the demonstration intensified near the Home Minister’s office.

Also read: ED raids I-PAC office in Kolkata ahead of 2026 Bengal polls, CM Mamata Banerjee alleges data loot

Speaking during the protest, TMC MP Satabdi Roy alleged that agencies are selectively activated during polls to influence electoral outcomes.

“...They sent the team of ED yesterday and they remember everything during the time of elections...They send the teams of ED, CBI during the elections just to win, but they won't win the elections...,” Roy said.

The ED had conducted searches at locations linked to I-PAC in Kolkata on Wednesday, triggering sharp reactions from the Trinamool Congress and leading to protests by its MPs in the national capital.

Mamata Banerjee to lead protest march today

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is set to lead a protest march in Kolkata later on Friday against the ED raids.

The march is part of the Trinamool Congress’s broader pushback, with the party leadership describing the agency action as politically motivated and aimed at intimidating the ruling party before the polls.

Banerjee, who is also the TMC supremo, has accused the Centre of crossing “all limits” and has directly targeted Union Home Minister Amit Shah over the raids, urging Prime Minister Narendra Modi to rein him in.

Read more: Mamata to hit streets on Jan 9 against ED raids at I-PAC office

ED raids at I-PAC office, Pratik Jain’s residence

The Enforcement Directorate carried out marathon searches starting around 6 am Thursday at the I-PAC office in Salt Lake on the eastern outskirts of Kolkata and at the central Kolkata residence of I-PAC co-founder Pratik Jain on Loudon Street.

After emerging from the Salt Lake office, Banerjee alleged that the agency had accessed sensitive party material. “The ED started the operations at 6AM. They have accessed all party data, laptops, election strategies and Bengal SIR related documents, with which we were assisting people. All data have been accessed by their Forensic team. It is a crime. It is our party’s IT office. I-PAC is AITC’s authorized team, which assists in polls,” she said.

Banerjee claimed that I-PAC was officially working for the Trinamool Congress under formal agreements and alleged that “after looting all the data, the tables are left empty,” though she added that ED officials told her no data had been taken away.

“Ahead of the polls, it will be difficult if all data and information is taken away by the agency. They have accessed all data—candidate lists, SIR related and all other data. We are a registered political party. We pay Income Tax and an audit is also done. How will we prepare ahead of the polls,” Banerjee said, adding, “If I raid BJP’s party and IT office, what will happen? I am still tolerating it. They have crossed all limits.”

Also read: BJP slams CM Mamata Banerjee, defends ED action as 'independent'

Calling the raids a “murder of democracy and right to work,” Banerjee said, “As per agreement, the I-PAC was working on behalf of us officially. Is it not a crime?”

She also said she rushed to Pratik Jain’s residence after learning that his phone had been confiscated during the searches, with Kolkata Police Commissioner Manoj Verma also visiting the spot.

According to ET, ED sources said a special team from Delhi conducted the operation and that the searches are linked to an old coal smuggling case registered in the capital, with I-PAC’s name allegedly surfacing in connection with certain transactions. Another ED team also searched the residence of a businessman in the Posta area of north Kolkata, with central forces assisting the operation.