Kolkata: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Thursday reportedly knocked on the doors of the Calcutta High Court, soon after Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee barged into the home of political consultancy firm I-PAC’s chief, Pratik Jain and walked out with files and a cellphone, even as the probe agency was conducting searches.
The central agency has alleged that the Chief Minister “obstructed” the process and took away key evidence.
In a petition filed at the High Court, the ED alleged that the Chief Minister misused her constitutional powers and entered the residence of the I-PAC chief, where ED officials were conducting a raid. A hearing is likely to be held on Friday.
The ED said in a statement that proceedings were carried out peacefully and professionally until the Chief Minister arrived with a large number of police officers and allegedly took away key evidence, including physical documents and electronic devices, reported The New Indian Express.
Notably, Jain’s wife has filed a police complaint alleging the theft of important documents during the raid.
Chief Minister Banerjee has alleged that ED officials were attempting to seize TMC’s hard disks, internal documents and sensitive organisational data during the search.
The agency maintained that the searches were conducted on the basis of solid evidence, rejecting allegations of political targeting. The ED also claimed that a person holding a constitutional post misused her authority to remove files and said the raids, related to coal smuggling and hawala transactions in Delhi and West Bengal, had no connection with the elections.
