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An intense political drama erupted in Kolkata as ED raided the residence of the Trinamool Congress’s poll strategist, sparking an uproar from West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee.
TMC members stage a protest against the Enforcement Directorate’s raid at the office of political consultancy firm I-PAC. (PTI)
The Enforcement Directorate on Thursday carried out raids at multiple locations connected to Anup Majee, the prime accused in a money laundering case related to the West Bengal coal mining scam. The searches included the office of political consultancy firm I-PAC and the residence of its senior functionary, Prateek Jain.
The raids at the I-PAC office and Jain’s residence turned into a bitter face-off between the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), as Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee alleged political vendetta and accused the Centre of targeting her party ahead of elections.
“…Is it the duty of the ED, Amit Shah, to collect the party’s hard disk, candidate list?… The nasty, naughty Home Minister who cannot protect the country and is taking away all my party documents. What will be the result if I raid the BJP party office? On one side, they are deleting the names of all the voters by carrying out the SIR in West Bengal…Because of the elections, they are collecting all the information about my party,” Banerjee said.
Why Is ED Conducting Raids?
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). It alleged that the action was undertaken till the arrival of Mamata Benrjee and police personnel, who “forcibly removed physical documents and electronic evidence in 2 of the premises”.
Anup Majee is the main accused in a 2020 illegal coal mining scam case, estimated to be worth billions. The ED had also alleged that Anup Majee alias Lala was running an organised syndicate involved in illegal mining and theft of coal from leasehold areas of Eastern Coalfield Limited (ECL). The CBI has conducted several raids on his hideouts in the past few months, and in 2021, the ED had summoned TMC MP Abhishek Banerjee’s wife Rujira Banerjee for questioning.
In an official statement on Thursday, the ED said that investigation revealed that a large part of the coal illegally excavated by Majee’s gang was linked to hawala operators. “One hawala operator linked to layering of proceeds of crime of coal sm,uggling had facilitated transactions of tens of crores of rupees to Indian Pac Consulting Private Limited,” it said.
ED Headquarters Unit is conducting search action at 10 premises (6 in West Bengal and 4 in Delhi) under PMLA in connection with coal smuggling syndicate led by Anup Majee used to steal and illegally excavate coal from ECL leasehold areas of West Bengal. The search action was… pic.twitter.com/ab7PCReiJo— ED (@dir_ed) January 8, 2026
The anti-graft body said I-PAC was one of the entities linked to Hawala money. During the search, South Kolkata DCP and the Officer in Charge of Sarani Police Station came to one of the premises along with an official to verify the identity of the officials.
‘Evidence-Based, Not Political’
The ED said Kolkata Police officials were also briefed about the raids. “Proceedings were being conducted in a peaceful and professional manner, till the arrival of West Bengal chief Minister, Ms. Mamata Banerjee along with large number of police officials. Ms Banerjee entered the residential premises of Prateek Jain, and took away key evidences including physical documents and electronic devices,” it added.
It further alleged that the CM’s aides and police personnel forcibly removed documents from I-PAC’s office premises, which resulted in obstruction in the ongoing investigation under PMLA.
“It is clarified that the search is evidence based and is not targeted at any political establishment. No party office has been searched. The search is not linked to any elections, and is part of regular crackdown on money laundering,” it added in the statement.
‘Abuse Of Power At Its Worst’
Meanwhile, Leader of the Opposition in the West Bengal Assembly, Suvendu Adhikari demanded legal action against Mamata Benrjee for interfering in the functioning of a central agency. He further questioned why was a voter list found at the IPAC office? “Is IPAC a party office? I challenge Mamata Banerjee to conduct raids anywhere. If a raid is carried out at your residence, at least Rs 100 crore will be recovered,” he said.
BJP’s IT department head Amit Malviya said the ED statement was a “damning indictment” of Mamata Banerjee, and accused her of “abuse of power at its worst”. “According to the ED, Mamata Banerjee, accompanied by a large contingent of police officials, personally entered the residential premises of Prateek Jain and removed crucial evidence, including physical documents and electronic devices,” he said on X.
“These actions, as stated by the ED, amount to direct obstruction of a lawful investigation under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). That a sitting Chief Minister would intervene in this manner, not to uphold the law, but to shield an agency involved in coal smuggling and money laundering, is nothing short of shameful,” Malviya added.
January 08, 2026, 16:13 IST
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