West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee to lead protest in Kolkata tomorrow following ED raids at I-PAC office

Kolkata (West Bengal) [India], January 8 (ANI): West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee to lead a protest in Kolkata on January 9 following the Enforcement Directorate (ED) raids at the IPAC office in connection with the alleged coal smuggling scam.

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) accused West Bengal CM Banerjee of entering the residential premises of Prateek Jain, the director of top political consultancy group I-PAC, during its ongoing search operation in Kolkata and taking away "key evidence", including physical documents and electronic devices.

In a statement, the ED said that its team was conducting the search proceedings in a peaceful and professional manner until the arrival of the West Bengal Chief Minister, along with a large number of police officials.

"Banerjee entered the residential premises of Prateek Jain, and took away key evidence, including physical documents and electronic devices," reads the ED statement.

Earlier today, Mamata Banerjee visited the I-PAC office on a public road and accused the central agency of unlawfully seizing party-related data, laptops, mobile phones, and strategic documents. She alleged that forensic experts transferred data during the raid, calling it a "crime" and daring Union Home Minister Amit Shah to fight the Trinamool Congress (TMC) democratically in Bengal.

The Chief Minister maintained that I-PAC is not a private organisation but an authorised team of the All India Trinamool Congress (AITC). She claimed the ED confiscated sensitive party documents, including data related to the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, despite the TMC being a registered political party that regularly submits income tax details.

Meanwhile, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Thursday mounted a sharp attack on TMC supremo following her visit to the Kolkata office of political consultancy firm I-PAC, which was raided by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in connection with the alleged coal scam.

In a post on X, the BJP alleged that Banerjee's actions during the ED raid raised "disturbing questions" and indicated a "deeper conspiracy." The party claimed that the sight of a sitting Chief Minister rushing to an investigation site to secure party documents and hard disks was not damage control but suggested an attempt to hide incriminating evidence.

"If there is nothing to hide in West Bengal, why would a Chief Minister scramble to secure files from an official investigation site?" the BJP said, asserting that the truth would eventually come out and that Bengal would "vote for the BJP." (ANI)