ED Director Rahul Naveen to visit Kolkata, review I-PAC search operation

New Delhi [India], January 21 (ANI): The Enforcement Directorate (ED) Director Rahul Naveen is set to visit Kolkata on Wednesday as part of a routine review, during which he will meet officers involved in the January 8 search operations at the office of political consultancy firm Indian PAC Consulting Private Limited (I-PAC) and the residence of its director Prateek Jain, official sources said.
This will be Naveen's first visit to Kolkata after the searches that triggered a major political and legal controversy. During the operation, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee entered Prateek Jain's residence amid ongoing searches and allegedly took away what the ED described as "key evidence", including physical documents and electronic devices.
Following the incident, the ED moved the Calcutta High Court with an urgent writ petition, accusing the West Bengal Police of obstructing its officials in the discharge of their duties under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002.
The agency alleged that the police, acting in collusion with the Chief Minister, interfered with the search proceedings in "flagrant and blatant disregard to law".
In its 28-page petition, the ED claimed that its officers were prevented from carrying out statutory functions and that judicial intervention was necessary to "instil public confidence" and curb what it termed as "overreach" by the state police and the Chief Minister. The agency also alleged violations of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023, during the search operation.
The ED stated that the searches were conducted in connection with an ongoing probe into a coal smuggling case, in which I-PAC and related entities allegedly received proceeds of crime.
According to the petition, the investigation revealed that at least Rs 20 crore was transferred to I-PAC through hawala channels.
Detailing the events of January 8, the ED claimed that senior police officers, followed by the Chief Minister, entered the premises while searches under Section 17 of the PMLA were underway.
The agency alleged that despite requests not to interfere, Mamata Banerjee, with the assistance of police personnel, forcibly took possession of digital devices and incriminating documents.
Similar incidents were reported at another searched premise, it said.
The ED further alleged that its officers were later subjected to "malicious" FIRs aimed at criminally intimidating them for performing official duties. Citing these "extraordinary developments", the agency sought urgent intervention from the High Court.
In a statement issued on January 8, the ED maintained that the searches were evidence-based and not targeted at any political establishment. The agency said the probe stems from a CBI FIR registered in November 2020 against coal smuggling kingpin Anup Majee and others, which led to the registration of an Enforcement Case Information Report (ECIR).
According to the ED, the investigation uncovered a large-scale coal-smuggling syndicate operating in West Bengal, with proceeds routed through hawala operators to various entities, including I-PAC.
On January 8, the ED conducted searches at six premises in West Bengal and four in Delhi as part of the ongoing investigation. (ANI)