Kolkata: Kolkata witnessed a day of extraordinary political theatre on Thursday as Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress (TMC) supremo Mamata Banerjee raced from one raid site to another, stepping directly into Enforcement Directorate (ED) searches linked to her party’s election strategist and emerging minutes later clutching files—an intervention that triggered a full-blown political confrontation and parallel courtroom battles.
The flashpoint came with simultaneous ED raids at two locations linked to TMC’s political consultancy firm Indian Political Action Committee (I-PAC)—the Loudon Street residence of its co-founder Pratik Jain and the firm’s Salt Lake Sector V office. As searches were underway, Kolkata Police Commissioner Manoj Verma reached Jain’s residence. Moments later, Banerjee herself arrived, dramatically raising the stakes.
After a brief stay inside the house, the TMC chairperson walked out, visibly agitated, holding a green file in her hand. Within minutes, the political temperature in the city soared.
Calling the raids a “murder of democracy”, Banerjee accused the BJP of unleashing the ED to cripple the Trinamool ahead of the 2026 Assembly elections. She alleged that Union Home minister Amit Shah had “orchestrated” the operation to “steal” the party’s candidate lists and election strategy.
“The ED has been sent only to collect my party’s details,” Banerjee said, urging Prime Minister Narendra Modi to rein in his Home Minister. “This is an assault on Bengal. The people will give a befitting reply.”
From Loudon Street, Banerjee travelled nearly 15 km to I-PAC’s Salt Lake office, where a second ED team was conducting searches. Entering through a back door, she remained inside for around 15–20 minutes. When she emerged, officials from the Chief Minister’s Office were seen accompanying her, carrying several files—visuals that would later fuel the agency’s allegations.
Addressing the media, Banerjee alleged that the ED action was politically motivated and aimed at derailing the Trinamool Congress before the polls. “They have taken away files, laptops, mobile phones and hard disks,” she said. “With the candidate list, they might threaten our people and probable candidates. But our people cannot be scared.”
Questioning the agency’s mandate, she asked: “Is it the duty of the ED or Amit Shah to collect a political party’s hard disk and candidate list? The Home Minister cannot protect the country, but is busy taking away all my party documents. What will happen if I raid the BJP office?”
She also raised allegations of large-scale voter deletions. “Why did you allow an app that lacks credibility to delete the names of 58 lakh voters in Bengal?” she asked, warning Shah that the BJP would be reduced to “zero seats” in the state if such tactics continued.
As the political storm raged outside, the battle shifted swiftly to the Calcutta High Court. The Trinamool Congress filed a writ petition against the Union government and the ED, challenging the searches conducted at multiple locations.
Almost simultaneously, the ED moved the High Court alleging interference in its investigation, seeking permission to initiate proceedings after Banerjee allegedly entered Jain’s residence and walked out with files and a cellphone while the raid was in progress. I-PAC, for its part, challenged the legality of the searches.
I-PAC has worked closely with the TMC for years and played a key role in the party’s emphatic victory in the 2021 Assembly elections.
Sources said the ED searches were linked to a money laundering probe in which proceeds of crime were allegedly traced to I-PAC. The agency has claimed that funds from the alleged Bengal coal scam were routed to the consultancy firm for its work during the Trinamool Congress’s 2022 Goa Assembly election campaign.
The ED alleged that Banerjee, her aides and state police personnel “forcibly removed” physical documents and electronic evidence. It maintained that the raids were neither politically targeted nor linked to elections. Visuals circulated showing files marked “February 2022” and documents detailing travel records of Trinamool leaders.
The Trinamool Congress dismissed the searches as “political burglary”, alleging that Jain’s residence was raided under the pretext of probing a decade-old case. Banerjee said ED teams arrived with forensic experts and “took away everything”.
“The desks are empty. By the time we redraw every strategy, elections will be over. Was this the right thing to do?” she asked, adding, “If they can raid our IT cell, they can raid any IT cell.”
After leaving the Salt Lake office, Banerjee dared the BJP to fight electorally. “If you want to win Bengal, fight us politically,” she said. “I-PAC is authorised to work for us. We are a registered political party. We file income tax. The Centre cannot bulldoze us using money and muscle power.”
She went on to allege that money from coal smuggling was being used by senior BJP leaders, naming Shah, Suvendu Adhikari, Jagannath Chatterjee, and Rajnath Singh, claiming that despite “many big corrupt BJP leaders” in Bengal, no action was taken against them.
Meanwhile, the ED moved the bench of Justice Suvra Ghosh, with the matter likely to be heard on Friday. Separately, the family of Pratik Jain approached the High Court challenging the searches at his residence and the I-PAC office. The family also filed a police complaint alleging theft of important documents during the raid.
Meanwhile, the TMC on Thursday moved the Calcutta High Court, filing a writ petition against the Centre and the ED over raids at multiple locations, which it described as “politically motivated” and aimed at intimidating the ruling party ahead of the Assembly elections. Chief Minister.
Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari demanded strong legal action against Banerjee, accusing her of interfering with an ongoing ED investigation into a money laundering case.
Mamata Banerjee also announced a protest rally on Friday against the ED searches on political consultancy firm I-PAC’s office and its director Pratik Jain’s residence, claiming such actions by central agencies are politically motivated ahead of elections.