ED moves HC, seeks probe against Mamata Banerjee for obstructing I-PAC raid

In its writ petition filed before the Calcutta high court, the ED accused Banerjee of intimidating its officers, forcibly taking away evidence, and hijacking the witnesses, who accompanied the agency’s team for the raid. HT has reviewed a copy of ED’s petition.

The ED searched the I-PAC office, the residence of its director, Pratik Jain, in Kolkata, and eight other locations. Banerjee arrived at Jain’s residence as the searches were on and took away documents and a laptop. She accused the ED of seizing her party’s internal documents and sensitive data related to the 2026 assembly polls, including the candidate list.

The ED’s petition cited a probe since 2020 into a coal smuggling syndicate and said it revealed the proceeds of crime were moved through international and domestic hawala. “Concrete material found during investigation revealed that at least ₹20 crore worth of proceeds of crime was transferred to I-PAC through hawala channels.”

The agency detailed questioning of individuals and how this money reached I-PAC in Goa, where it worked in 2021-22. The firm has provided political consultancy to the ruling Trinamool Congress and the West Bengal government since 2021.

The petition said the search was initiated on Thursday against I-PAC and certain other entities in relation to the coal smuggling case, in continuation of the ongoing investigation, to trace out the proceeds of crime and utilisation thereof.

The ED said its search was going on peacefully from 6:30am to 12:40pm until Banerjee, police officers, including commissioner Manoj Kumar Verma and deputy commissioner, Priyobrato, entered and obstructed the search.

The plea said Priyobrato visited the premises and informed the authorised officer that a complaint of house trespass had been received during the search at Jain’s residence. “Thereafter, for the verification of correct facts about the proceedings....[Priyobrato] was shown the identity cards of the team and the search authorisation.”

The plea said that Verma thereafter entered the premises. It added that as the police officers were being briefed about the search proceedings under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, Banerjee entered the premises despite a request not to interfere.

The ED said she violated the law and forcibly took possession of all digital devices along with key incriminating documents from the possession of the authorised officer with the aid of police personnel before leaving around 12:15pm. It called such interference a direct assault on the independent powers of the statutory investigating agency under the PMLA. “...when the political executive uses state machinery to obstruct investigation, the rule of law ceases to operate, warranting immediate interference by constitutional courts.”

The agency alleged that Banerjee forcibly removed, seized, concealed, and stole the digital devices, electronic storage media, and key incriminating documents with the aid of the police. It added that this amounts to theft, criminal trespass, destruction of evidence, intimidation, and wrongful confinement of the ED officers.

The agency claimed the witnesses were intimidated, effectively hijacked and made to write that the search was conducted peacefully and nothing was recovered, rather than truthfully or correctly recording that the digital device and key incriminating documents, which Banerjee forcibly took possession of with the aid of state police.

The plea asked the high court to order CBI to register a case and investigate the incident, including the role of Banerjee, police officials, and others. It sought immediate seizure, sealing, forensic preservation, and restoration to the ED of all digital devices, electronic records, storage media, and documents illegally and forcibly taken away from the search premises.