ED seeks CBI probe against West Bengal CM

THe Enforcement board of directors (ED) has claimed that proceeds of criminal offense charles frederick worth ₹20 crore generated by purported irregularities in coal minelaying in due west Bengal were transferred through hawala channels to the political consultancy firm I-PAC. The agency made the allegation while seeking a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe against chief minister Mamata Banerjee, senior state police officers and others for obstructing its raid on Thursday.In its writ petition filed before the Calcutta high court, the federal agency accused Banerjee of intimidating its officers, forcibly taking away evidence and hijacking the “panch” witnesses (independent witnesses who accompanied the team for the raid). The court adjourned a hearing on the plea from Friday to January 14.HT has reviewed a copy of the ED’s petition.The agency carried out searches at the I-PAC office and the residence of its director, Pratik Jain, in Kolkata, along with eight other locations. The petition stated that the search proceeded peacefully from 6.30am to 12.40pm until the chief minister and police officers, including police commissioner Manoj Kumar Verma and deputy commissioner of police (DCP) Priyobrato, “entered and obstructed the search”.While searches were on, Banerjee stormed into Jain’s residence and took away documents and a laptop. She accused ED of seizing her party’s internal documents and sensitive data relating to the 2026 assembly polls, including the candidate list.According to the petition, a probe into the alleged coal smuggling syndicate led by Anup Majee began in 2020 and revealed that proceeds of crime (PoC) were moved through international and domestic hawala channels.“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 petition alleged.The agency detailed, through the questioning of several individuals, how this money reached I-PAC in Goa, where it was working for the TMC in 2021-22. The firm has been providing political consultancy to the Trinamool Congress and the state government since 2021.“In continuation of the ongoing investigation and to trace out the proceeds of crime and utilisation thereof a search action was initiated (on Thursday) against I-PAC and certain other entities in relation with the coal smuggling case,” the petition said.Detailing the timeline at Jain’s residence in Loudon Mansion, the petition stated that at around 11.15am, Priyobrato visited the premises regarding a trespass complaint. He was shown the team’s identity cards and search authorisation. Later, Verma entered the premises.“As the police officers were being briefed about the search proceedings u/s [under Section] 17 of prevention of money laundering act (PMLA), at around 12.05pm, Mamata Banerjee, sitting chief minister of West Bengal, entered the premises despite a categorical request to not interfere with the ongoing search proceedings under PMLA,” the petition stated.ED alleged that Banerjee, “violating all law and order... Forcibly took possession of all digital devices along with key incriminating documents from the possession of the authorised officer and left the premises at about 12.15pm”.Asserting that such interference constituted a direct assault on the independent powers of the statutory investigating agency, ED said: “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, with the aid of police, “forcibly removed, seized , concealed, and stole” the digital devices and documents. It said this amounted to theft, criminal trespass and destruction of evidence, besides intimidating and wrongfully confining ED officers.The agency further claimed the witnesses were “intimidated, overawed, and effectively hijacked” and made to write that the search was conducted peacefully and nothing was recovered, rather than truthfully recording that the items were “forcibly taken possession (of) by the Chief Minister with the aid of state police”.ED prayed to the high court to order CBI to register a case and investigate the incident, including the role of Banerjee, police officials and “all persons acting in concert”. It also sought the “immediate seizure, sealing, forensic preservation, and restoration to ED of all digital devices, electronic records, storage media, and documents illegally and forcibly taken away from the search premises”.