4 months ago
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The Directorate of Enforcement connected Thursday (January 8, 2026) alleged that West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee entered the residence of I-PAC manager Pratik Jain successful Kolkata during a raid successful a wealth laundering lawsuit linked to alleged ember smuggling, and took distant “key” evidence, including carnal documents and physics devices.
In a statement, the national probe bureau besides accused Ms. Banerjee of subsequently proceeding to the I-PAC bureau successful Salt Lake, from wherever she, her aides, and the authorities constabulary “forcibly removed carnal documents and physics evidence”.
The ED said raids were being carried retired connected 10 premises, six successful West Bengal and 4 successful Delhi, arsenic portion of a 2020 lawsuit registered by the CBI against a ember smuggling syndicate led by Anup Majhi alias ‘Lala’, who allegedly stole and illegally excavated ember from the Eastern Coalfield leasehold areas successful and astir Asansol successful Bengal’s Paschim Bardhaman district.
A hawala relation linked to ember smuggling facilitated transactions of tens of crores of rupees to the Indian PAC Consulting Pvt Ltd, the registered institution of governmental consultancy steadfast I-PAC.
“IPAC is besides 1 of the entities linked to Hawala money,” the ED alleged. The proceedings were being conducted peacefully and professionally till the clip Mamata Banerjee arrived with a ample fig of constabulary officers, the ED connection said.
She entered the residential premises of Pratik Jain, the co-founder of I-PAC and caput of the IT compartment of the Trinamool Congress, the ruling enactment successful West Bengal, and took distant cardinal evidence, including carnal documents and physics devices, the ED alleged.
The bureau said the actions of Ms. Banerjee and the Kolkata Police commissioner resulted successful “obstructions” successful the ongoing probe and proceedings being undertaken arsenic per the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
“It is clarified that the hunt is evidence-based and not targeted astatine immoderate governmental establishment. No enactment bureau has been searched.
“The hunt is not linked to immoderate elections, and is portion of a regular crackdown connected wealth laundering. It is conducted strictly successful accordance with the established ineligible safeguards,” the ED said.
