KOLKATA: Trinamool Congress (TMC) chairperson and West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee led a protest rally in Kolkata on Friday against the Enforcement Directorate (ED), a day after the central agency conducted raids at the office of political consultancy I-PAC and the residence of its chief, Partik Jain.The rally was held near the 8B bus stand in Jadavpur, where a large number of TMC leaders and workers gathered, raising slogans against the alleged misuse of central agencies. Heavy police deployment was seen in the area.
The protest followed ED searches at the Kolkata office of I-PAC and the residence of its chief, Pratik Jain. The TMC alleged that the agency attempted to access the party’s internal data and election strategy during the raids.Read also: ‘Unmanageable crowd’ – Calcutta HC adjourns ED plea seeking FIR against Mamata Banerjee; hearing on likely Jan 14Earlier, TMC leaders claimed they were forcibly removed while staging a protest against the ED action. Party leaders accused the police of preventing a peaceful demonstration.The rally was held near the 8B bus stand in Jadavpur, where a large number of TMC leaders and workers gathered, raising slogans against the alleged misuse of central agencies. Heavy police deployment was seen in the area.The protest followed ED searches at the Kolkata office of I-PAC and the residence of its chief, Pratik Jain. The TMC alleged that the agency attempted to access the party’s internal data and election strategy during the raids.Earlier, TMC leaders claimed they were forcibly removed while staging a protest against the ED action. Party leaders accused the police of preventing a peaceful demonstration.The issue also triggered protests in Delhi on Friday, where several TMC MPs, including Derek O’Brien and Mahua Moitra, were detained while protesting near Kartavya Bhavan. Police said prohibitory orders were in force in the area due to security concerns.The TMC accused the Union government of misusing the ED to intimidate opposition parties and announced protests across West Bengal and at the national level.Also read: Mahua, Derek dragged away from outside Amit Shah’s office; TMC MPs protest over I-PAC raidThe ED said it is investigating the Prashant Kishor-founded I-PAC, whose official website mentions both the Trinamool Congress and the West Bengal government as clients, in a 2020 money laundering case linked to a coal scam. On Thursday, ED searched I-PAC’s office in the tech hub of Sector V in Salt Lake and the central Kolkata home of its director, Pratik Jain.“Proceedings were being conducted in a peaceful and professional manner until the arrival of West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee, along with a large number of police officials,” the ED complaint says. “She took away key evidence, including physical documents and electronic devices. These actions resulted in obstruction of the ongoing investigation and proceedings under the PMLA,” the complaint adds.Mamata, who described Thursday’s raids as “a vendetta crime,” visited Jain’s Loudon Street apartment around noon and stayed there for about seven minutes before leaving with a green folder, a hard drive, and a mobile phone.ED officials had split into three groups and reached Jain’s home, I-PAC’s Sector V office, and another businessman’s home in north Kolkata’s Posta between 6:05 am and 6:30 am. Only two employees were present at the I-PAC office at the time, while Jain was at home with his family.
