Kolkata/New Delhi, Jan 8 (PTI) The ED on Thursday conducted searches at the office of the political consultancy firm I-PAC and the residence of its director Pratik Jain in Kolkata, an action that ignited high drama, with West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee unexpectedly storming into the sites during raids, alleging that the central agency was trying to seize the TMC’s sensitive data ahead of the high-stakes state polls.

In a strong rebuttal, the ED, which maintained that the searches were part of a money laundering probe into an alleged multi-crore rupee coal pilferage scam, accused Banerjee of obstructing a lawful investigation and claimed that she and the state police forcibly removed "key evidence" during the raids.

The confrontation, which unfolded at a politically combustible moment, added sharp electoral overtones ahead of the elections to the 294-member West Bengal Assembly, to be held in less than three months, as both the Trinamool Congress and the BJP were locked in an aggressive battle for narrative control.

The standoff also soon took a legal turn, with the ED moving the Calcutta High Court, seeking permission to file a petition, alleging interference in its investigation. The I-PAC also approached the HC, opposing the searches and questioning its legality.

According to the ED, the I-PAC's office in Salt Lake Sector V and Jain's residence on Loudon Street were among about 10 premises, including four in Delhi, that were raided by the federal probe agency in the presence of central paramilitary teams from 7 am. However, Banerjee’s unscheduled appearance at the raid site injected street-level drama, drawing senior police officers, party leaders, and central forces into a tense stand-off that unfolded in full public view.

Banerjee arrived around noon at the residence of Jain, co-founder and director of Indian Political Action Committee (I-PAC), soon after Kolkata Police Commissioner Manoj Verma reached the spot. She stayed inside for about 20–25 minutes before emerging with a green folder in her hand, accusing ED officials of overreach.

For the chief minister, the optics of physically confronting the ED, rather than responding through statements alone, appeared to be a calibrated move to send a message of resistance, reinforcing her long-held image as a leader willing to meet institutional pressure head-on ahead of polls.

"They have raided the residence and offices of our in-charge of the IT cell. They were confiscating my party’s documents and hard disks, which have details about our party candidates for the assembly polls. I have brought those back," Banerjee told reporters, asserting that the materials had no link to any financial probe.

For Banerjee, the ED action reinforced her long-running campaign charge that central agencies are being deployed to disrupt opposition parties at critical moments of electoral preparation, while for the BJP, the raids offered an opportunity to underline its anti-corruption plank in the state where it is seeking to claw back ground after its 2021 defeat.

I-PAC, apart from offering political consultancy to the TMC, also manages the party’s IT and media operations, making the search especially sensitive in the run-up to elections.

Banerjee alleged that ED officials had walked away with hard disks, mobile phones, laptops, candidate lists, and internal strategy documents of the ruling party. “Is it the duty of the ED to collect political party data?” she asked.

Launching a sharp attack on the BJP leadership, Banerjee described the searches as an act of "political vendetta" and accused Union Home Minister Amit Shah of "misusing" constitutional agencies to intimidate opposition parties.

"This is not law enforcement. The nasty home minister, the naughty home minister, who cannot protect the country and is taking away all my party documents," she said, later adding that the Prime Minister must "control his home minister".

In a statement issued from New Delhi, the ED alleged that Banerjee entered Jain’s residence during the raid in a money laundering case linked to alleged coal smuggling and took away "key evidence", including physical documents and electronic devices.

The agency said she subsequently went to the I-PAC office, from where she, her aides, and the state police "forcibly removed physical documents and electronic evidence".

Banerjee alleged the raids began around 6 am when no one was present. "They started the search when there was nobody inside. They transferred our data, poll strategies, and information into their system. This is a crime," she said after visiting the office.

By the time she reached the Sector V office of I-PAC around 1 pm, senior officers of the Bidhannagar Police Commissionerate had cordoned off the area, while central forces sealed the entry and exit points of the multi-storey building housing the I-PAC office.

Without engaging with paramilitary personnel, Banerjee accessed the building through the basement and took a general lift to the 11th floor, declining a separate VIP lift—an image the party projected as symbolic defiance.

"They have taken our election strategy, our SIR data, and other details. If the assembly polls pass and we have to draw up election plans afresh, who will be responsible?" she said, alleging that tables in the office had been left empty after documents were taken away.

Asserting that the TMC is a registered political party that pays income tax regularly, Banerjee said the ED could have sought any legitimate information from the Income Tax Department.

"The BJP is the biggest party of thieves," she charged, warning that restraint should not be mistaken for weakness.

She also alleged large-scale deletion of voters’ names from electoral rolls through the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process.

"Do they think they can capture the state by deleting voters and raiding the IT cell offices of political parties?" she said, asserting that the Centre could not "bulldoze us using money and muscle power".

Banerjee remained at the I-PAC office until Jain arrived and resumed work, leaving the premises around 4.14 pm.

The searches, the ED said, were part of a probe into a 2020 case registered by the CBI against a coal smuggling syndicate allegedly led by Anup Majhi, alias Lala, accused of illegally excavating coal from Eastern Coalfields leasehold areas in and around Asansol in Paschim Bardhaman district.

According to the ED, a hawala operator linked to the coal smuggling racket facilitated transactions of tens of crores of rupees to Indian PAC Consulting Pvt Ltd, the registered company of I-PAC.

"IPAC is also one of the entities linked to hawala money," the agency alleged, maintaining that the proceedings were being conducted peacefully and professionally until the chief minister’s arrival.

"It is clarified that the search is evidence-based and not targeted at any political establishment. No party office has been searched. The search is not linked to any elections," the ED said, adding that the actions of Banerjee and the police amounted to obstruction under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

The Indian Political Action Committee (I-PAC) is a political consultancy firm that works with parties and leaders on election strategy, campaign management, data analytics, and digital outreach. Founded by political strategist Prashant Kishor, I-PAC has been working with the TMC since June 2019.

The BJP seized on the ED’s allegations to counter the TMC’s charge of political vendetta. Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari demanded strong legal action against the chief minister for allegedly interfering with the work of a central investigating agency.

The BJP’s state unit said attempts to politicise a lawful probe or undermine constitutional authorities weakened public trust in institutions and the rule of law.

The timing of Thursday’s standoff has also hardened political lines and once again placed central investigative agencies at the centre of a fraught federal contest.

The episode has revived memories of February 2019, when Banerjee rushed to the same Loudon Street area during a CBI search of then police commissioner Rajeev Kumar’s residence and later staged a dharna in the central Kolkata.

Banerjee also announced a protest rally on Friday against the searches.

"Tomorrow I will lead a protest rally from Jadavpur 8B bus stand to Hazra crossing," she said and asked people to participate in the over 5-km long rally. PTI PNT NES AMR SMY RBT PNT PYK PYK