New Delhi, Jan 8 (PTI) The BJP on Thursday alleged that West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee "obstructed" the Enforcement Directorate's probe into the coal smuggling case and took away evidence which could have led the sleuths to her "doorsteps".

Terming Banerjee's conduct the "most unbecoming" of a chief minister, BJP national spokesperson Shehzad Poonawala alleged that she "tore the Constitution to shreds to protect corruption".

The Enforcement Directorate on Thursday alleged that the chief minister entered the residence of I-PAC director Pratik Jain in Kolkata during a raid in a money laundering case linked to alleged coal smuggling, and took away "key" evidence, including physical documents and electronic devices.

In a statement, the federal probe agency also accused the West Bengal chief minister of subsequently proceeding to the I-PAC office in Salt Lake, from where she, her aides, and the state police "forcibly removed physical documents and electronic evidence".

Reacting to the development that has triggered a huge political row in the poll-bound state, Poonawala said, "She created obstructions during the raids and stole some important evidence, including some files." "It shows that the entire connection of this coal scam directly leads up to the TMC and Mamata Banerjee's doorsteps. She obstructed a legal process, tearing the Constitution to shreds, to protect corruption," he charged.

"The TMC has become synonymous with too much corruption. It's government protects rapists, corrupts and ghuspaithiyas (infiltrators)," the national spokesperson added.

Banerjee dramatically turned up at the residence of I-PAC chief Pratik Jain amid an ongoing ED raid, alleging that the central agency was attempting to seize the TMC's internal documents, hard disks and sensitive data linked to its election strategy.

She alleged the raid conducted at the residence and offices of Jain, "the in-charge of my IT cell", was politically motivated and unconstitutional.

The chief minister, also the TMC supremo, was seen coming out with documents, hard disks and a laptop from Jain's residence in Kolkata when the agency's search operations were underway.

Officials were also seen transferring documents in her vehicle during the raids at the I-PAC office in Salt Lake.

Leader of the Opposition in the West Bengal Assembly, Suvendu Adhikari, demanded strong legal action against Banerjee for allegedly interfering in the functioning of the ED, which is probing a money laundering case allegedly involving a coal smuggling syndicate of the state.

The BJP's West Bengal unit president, Samik Bhattacharya, alleged that her action put a stamp of approval on the perception that the "TMC is steeped in corruption and indulges in criminal activities, that a significant section of its leaders, nay the whole system, is involved in the coal scam and hawala transactions".

The ED said raids were being carried out on 10 premises, six in West Bengal and four in Delhi, as part of a 2020 case registered by the CBI against an alleged coal smuggling syndicate led by Anup Majhi alias 'Lala'.

It has been alleged that Lala stole and illegally excavated coal from the Eastern Coalfield leasehold areas in and around Asansol in Bengal's Paschim Bardhaman district.

The probe agency claimed that a hawala operator linked to coal smuggling facilitated transactions of tens of crores of rupees to the Indian PAC Consulting Pvt Ltd, the registered company of political consultancy firm I-PAC.

"IPAC is also one of the entities linked to hawala money," the ED alleged. The raids were being conducted peacefully and professionally till the time Mamata Banerjee arrived with a large number of police officers, the ED statement alleged. PTI PK PK NSD NSD

Mamata Banerjee alleged obstruction of ED raids and removal of evidence in a coal smuggling money laundering probe. Allegations assert obstruction of an enforcement investigation and removal of physical and electronic evidence during active raids in a money laundering probe tied to coal smuggling. The agency claims the chief executive entered premises of a political consultancy leader and, with aides and police, removed documents and devices that the agency links to hawala transfers and proceeds routed to the consultancy's registered company, indicating alleged laundering of funds from an organised coal smuggling syndicate.