The row over I-PAC raids has escalated as the Enforcement Directorate (ED) filed a fresh application in the Supreme Court calling for the suspension of West Bengal Director General of Police, Rajiv Kumar.
In its application, the ED noted Kumar’s conduct, saying he sat on a dharna with West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee after she led a massive protest rally against the agency’s raids at the I-PAC office and its Director Pratik Jain’s residence in Kolkata.
The probe agency has sought disciplinary action against top officials of the West Bengal police and sought directives to the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) and the Union Home Ministry to initiate disciplinary action.
The ED moved the Supreme Court after failing to get urgent relief from the Calcutta High Court, where it sought a CBI investigation into the role of Banerjee, senior police officials and others for allegedly obstructing its raids in Kolkata. The HC judge adjourned the case last week after chaos broke out in the courtroom.
ALSO READ: ‘All Documents Taken Away By TMC, Mamata Banerjee’: ED To Calcutta HC In I-PAC Case
Legal Battle Over I-PAC Raids
The legal battle stems from ED’s raids on the I-PAC office and the residence of Pratik Jain, the director of the political action committee, earlier this month. The ED has alleged that the Chief Minister took away incriminating documents from the agency’s custody during the raid at Jain’s home.
The ED conducted search operations at 10 premises, including six in West Bengal and four in Delhi, linked to Anup Majee as per the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), including the I-PAC office and Jain’s residence. I-PAC has been associated with the TMC since the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.
However, Mamata Banerjee has maintained that the documents and data related to her political party and accused the agency of targeting her and the Trinamool Congress. I-PAC has been associated with the TMC since the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.
She also led a massive protest march in Kolkata, flanked by actors of the Bengali film industry. She accused the ED of acting as a political tool of the BJP to “steal” her party’s internal strategy, asserting that she did nothing wrong in reaching the premises linked to I-PAC during the central agency’s raids.
Calcutta HC Disposes Of TMC’s Petition
Meanwhile, the Calcutta High Court on Wednesday dismissed the TMC’s petition against the ED raids at I-PAC, saying the ED has informed that it has not seized anything from I-PAC director Pratik Jain’s office and home during its raids.
The ED told the Calcutta High Court that it has not seized anything from the office of the I-PAC and its director, Prateek Jain. During the hearing, Additional Solicitor General SV Raju told the bench that nothing was seized by the probe agency, and that it was the Chief Minister who took away the files and devices.
A bench of Justice Ghosh noted that no seizure was effected from the offices of I-PAC or its director on January 8. “In view of such submissions, nothing remains to be dealt with, and the application is disposed of,” the bench said, disposing of the petition of the TMC.
BJP IT cell chief Amit Malviya said the ruling amounted to a “massive embarrassment” for the Chief Minister. In a post on X, Malviya alleged that Banerjee had interfered with an ongoing ED raid linked to a coal smuggling and money laundering case and accused her of attempting to intimidate central agencies.
