ED alleges Mamata Banerjee forcibly removed evidence during I-PAC raids, moves Calcutta High Court

Kolkata: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has approached the Calcutta High Court, alleging illegal interference during its search operations in connection with Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s “forcible” removal of “physical documents and electronic evidence in two of the premises” during the ED’s raid at the office of poll-strategy agency India Political Action Committee (I-PAC) in Salt Lake, Kolkata, and the residence of I-PAC's co-founder, Pratik Jain, in central Kolkata on Thursday.

The matter is scheduled to be heard by Justice Suvra Ghosh on Friday. The ED has filed a case citing obstruction and hindrance to the investigation during the raids. The agency stated that the “proceedings were being conducted in a peaceful and professional manner, till the arrival of West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee along with a large number of police officials.”

Also Read: Suvendu Adhikari terms Mamata Banerjee's visit to Pratik Jain's house as 'interference' in ED's probe


“The search action was undertaken in a peaceful manner till the arrival of the Chief Minister of West Bengal, along with police personnel and officers of the West Bengal administration, who forcibly removed physical documents and electronic evidence from two of the premises. It is clarified that the search is evidence-based and is not targeted at any political establishment. No party office has been searched. The search is not linked to any elections and is part of a regular crackdown on money laundering. The search is conducted strictly in accordance with established legal safeguards,” the ED said in a statement.

The ED further clarified that I-PAC is one of the entities linked to hawala money. “Proceedings were being conducted in a peaceful and professional manner, till the arrival of West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee along with a large number of police officials. Ms. Banerjee entered the residential premises of Pratik Jain and took away key evidence, including physical documents and electronic devices,” the ED said.

The agency reiterated, “The search is evidence-based and is not targeted at any political establishment. No party office has been searched. The search is not linked to any elections and is part of a regular crackdown on money laundering. The search is conducted strictly in accordance with established legal safeguards.”

“Investigation revealed that one hawala operator, linked to the layering of proceeds from coal smuggling, had facilitated transactions of tens of crores of rupees to Indian Pac Consulting Private Limited. The persons linked to the generation of coal smuggling proceeds, hawala operators, and handlers were covered in the PMLA search on 08.01.2026. I-PAC is also one of the entities linked to hawala money,” the central agency said.

“During the search, the Deputy Commissioner of Police, South Kolkata, and the Officer in Charge of Sarani Police Station came to one of the premises along with one personnel to verify the identity of the officials. The Commissioner of Police, Kolkata, also entered the premises shortly thereafter with several officers of Kolkata Police. They were briefed about the proceedings by the Authorized Officer, who also showed them his identity card,” the ED elaborated.

“Proceedings were being conducted in a peaceful and professional manner, till the arrival of West Bengal Chief Minister Ms. Mamata Banerjee along with a large number of police officials. Ms. Banerjee entered the residential premises of Pratik Jain and took away key evidence, including physical documents and electronic devices,” the ED said.

“The CM's convoy then proceeded to I-PAC's office premises, from where Ms. Banerjee, her aides, and the state police personnel forcibly removed physical documents and electronic evidence,” the ED added.

The agency pointed out that these actions resulted in obstruction of the ongoing investigation and proceedings under the PMLA.

According to the ED, the search was being conducted based on the CBI Kolkata FIR against Anup Majee and others, for which the ED had recorded an ECIR on November 28, 2020. “During investigation, it was revealed that the coal smuggling syndicate led by Anup Majee used to steal and illegally excavate coal from ECL leasehold areas of West Bengal. Thereafter, this coal was sold at various factories/plants located in Bankura, Bardhaman, Purulia, and other districts of West Bengal,” the ED said.