ED searches I-PAC office in Kolkata; CM Mamata alleges agency tried to seize TMC’s internal data

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Thursday (January 8, 2026) conducted searches on the premises of political consultancy firm I-PAC and its director Pratik Jain in Kolkata as part of a money laundering investigation, official sources said.

Jain is the co-founder of the Indian Political Action Committee, or I-PAC, they said. He is also the head of the IT cell of the Trinamool Congress, the ruling party in West Bengal. Some other premises are also being searched by the agency, the sources said.

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, meanwhile, reached the residence of Jain and condemned the ED action.

Ms. Banerjee on Thursday (January 8, 2026) alleged that ED officials were attempting to seize TMC’s hard disks, internal documents and sensitive organisational data during a search operation.

Ms. Banerjee said the raid at the residence of Jain, whom she termed as the party’s IT chief, was “politically motivated and unconstitutional”.

“They have raided the residence of our IT chief. They were confiscating my party’s documents and hard disks, which has details about our candidates for the assembly polls. I have brought those back,” Ms. Banerjee told reporters.

She accused the central agency of trying to take away hard disks, mobile phones, candidate lists and internal strategy documents of the ruling party.

“Is it the duty of the ED to collect political party data?” the Chief Minister asked.

Apart from political consultancy for the TMC, I-PAC also looks after the IT and media cell of the party.

Ms. Banerjee made the allegations after emerging from Jain’s Loudon Street residence in Kolkata, where searches have been underway since Thursday (January 8, 2026) morning.

Claiming that the ED was trying to access the ruling party’s internal strategy, candidate lists and confidential digital material, Ms. Banerjee said such information had no link to any financial probe.

Calling the exercise an act of intimidation, Ms. Banerjee said, “This is not law enforcement, this is political vendetta. The home minister is behaving like the nastiest home minister, not someone who protects the country.”

The exact nature of the searches and details of the case being probed were not immediately clear. There was no official statement from the ED or the I-PAC till the filing of this report.

Leader of Opposition in West Bengal Assembly Suvendu Adhikari termed Ms. Banerjee’s visit to IPAC chief Pratik Jain’s house on Thursday (January 8, 2026) as “unconstitutional and interference” in the central agency’s probe.

He said that the ED should take steps against the Chief Minister.

“I feel that the chief minister and the Kolkata police commissioner’s visit was unethical, unconstitutional and direct interference in the central agency’s investigation,” Mr. Adhikari told reporters soon after their visit to Jain’s residence at Loudon Street in Kolkata, as an ED raid was going on there.

The BJP leader said that Ms. Banerjee had gone to the then Kolkata police commissioner Rajeev Kumar’s official residence during a CBI raid there.