ED vs Mamata Banerjee: I-PAC Raid Sparks High-Stakes Clash
West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee speaks to supporters during ED raid at I-PAC office (Image AITMC on X)
As the ED moves Calcutta High Court over alleged obstruction during I-PAC raids, Mamata Banerjee cries political vendetta—reviving the 2020 coal scam and heating up West Bengal politics.
By NIRENDRA DEV
New Delhi, January 9, 2026 — Amid an unprecedented winter chill, West Bengal’s political temperature has surged after the Enforcement Directorate (ED) moved the Calcutta High Court accusing Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee of obstructing an investigation during raids on I-PAC, the political consultancy closely associated with the Trinamool Congress (TMC).
The ED’s action stems from raids conducted on January 8 at the Kolkata residence of I-PAC head Pratik Jain and the group’s office—operations the agency says were linked to a money laundering probe originating from the 2020 coal smuggling case. According to the ED, searches were proceeding peacefully until the Chief Minister arrived with a “large number of police officers,” following which physical documents and electronic devices were allegedly forcibly removed.
In a sharply worded statement, the ED accused Banerjee of misusing constitutional authority to interfere with an ongoing probe under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). The agency insists the raids were based on concrete evidence related to hawala transactions and had “nothing to do with elections or any political party.”
The Chief Minister, however, has mounted a fierce counterattack. Addressing the media, Banerjee termed the raids “politically motivated”, alleging they were orchestrated at the behest of Union Home Minister Amit Shah to steal TMC’s election data—particularly strategy documents and candidate lists for the 2026 Assembly elections.
The ED maintains that the case traces back to a CBI FIR filed on November 27, 2020, against alleged coal smuggling kingpin Anup Majhi, accused of running a syndicate siphoning coal from Eastern Coalfields Ltd (ECL) leasehold areas in Asansol. Investigators claim illegally mined coal was sold across multiple Bengal districts, with proceeds allegedly routed through companies linked to the Shakambhari Group. ED sources further allege that funds generated from the scam were channelled to I-PAC on behalf of the TMC, including for campaigning in Goa.
With I-PAC seeking a pause on the raids and Jain’s family filing a police complaint accusing the ED of theft, the confrontation has escalated into a full-blown institutional face-off. As courts step in and elections loom, the episode underscores a familiar but volatile question in Bengal: where does investigation end and politics begin?
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