- By Shubham Bajpai
- Thu, 08 Jan 2026 04:22 PM (IST)
- Source:JND
After a high-voltage drama over the Enforcement Directorate's (ED) raid at the residence of the I-PAC chief in Kolkata, the central agency on Thursday clarified that the search was evidence-based and was not targeted at any political establishment.
During the searches, West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee had reached the raided premises, to which the ED said, "Certain persons, including constitutional functionaries, have come to 2 premises (out of 10), intruded illegally by misusing their position and snatched away the documents."
In a statement, ED clarified that the raids were conducted in connection with illegal coal smuggling.
"The search is evidence-based and is not targeted at any political establishment. The search is ongoing at 10 places (6 in West Bengal and 4 in Delhi). The case relates to illegal coal smuggling. The search covers various premises linked to the generation of cash, hawala transfer, etc., in that case. No party office has been searched. The search is not linked to any elections and is part of a regular crackdown on money laundering," ED stated.
"The search is conducted strictly in accordance with established legal safeguards. Certain persons, including constitutional functionaries, have come to 2 premises (out of 10), intruded illegally by misusing their position and snatched away the documents", the agency added.
News agency PTI cited ED accusing CM Mamata and Kolkata Police of obstructing the raid. "Proceedings were peaceful, professional till CM Mamata Baneerjee arrived along with a large number of police officers," the ED said.
Earlier in the day, ED raided the residence of I-PAC chief Prateek Jain in Kolkata. Since I-PAC also looks after the IT cell of the Trinamool Congress (TMC), it triggered a political showdown with CM Mamata arriving at the raided premises with Kolkata police personnel.
She alleged that the raid was conducted to seize the crucial party documents, the candidates' list, and strategic information.
Hitting out at Centre and Home Minister Amit Shah, Mamata said, "Is it the duty of the ED, Amit Shah, to collect the party's hard disk, candidate list?... The nasty, naughty Home Minister who cannot protect the country and is taking away all my party documents."
"What will be the result if I raid the BJP party office? On one side, they are deleting the names of all the voters by carrying out the SIR in West Bengal...Because of the elections, they are collecting all the information about my party," she was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.