West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has taken the unprecedented step of filing criminal complaints against central agencies following raids on a political consultancy firm. The move marks a significant escalation in the ongoing tussle between the state government and central investigative bodies.
FIRs Lodged at Multiple Police Stations
On Thursday, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee personally filed two First Information Reports (FIRs) against the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF). According to sources within the state administration, one complaint was registered at the Bidhannagar police commissionerate, which has jurisdiction over the I-PAC office location. A second FIR was filed at the Kolkata police commissionerate, near the residence of I-PAC director Pratik Jain.
The legal action comes in direct response to searches conducted by the ED on ten premises associated with the Indian Political Action Committee (I-PAC). The raids covered four locations in Delhi and six in Kolkata, including Jain's residence on Loudon Street. The agency is investigating a money laundering case connected to the alleged coal smuggling scam in West Bengal.
Details of the Raids and Allegations
The Enforcement Directorate, in an official statement, claimed that proceeds from the coal scam, amounting to crores of rupees, were funneled to I-PAC through hawala channels. During the Kolkata operations, officials searched I-PAC's office on the 11th floor of a Salt Lake Sector V building, Jain's home, and the office of a trader in Posta, Burrabazar.
In a dramatic turn, Chief Minister Banerjee arrived at Pratik Jain's residence soon after the raid. She allegedly collected files, laptops, and documents before proceeding to the I-PAC office in Salt Lake. Speaking to the media, she launched a fierce attack on the central agencies and the BJP-led government at the Centre.
"Such a raid on our party office is a crime. I-PAC is our authorised team. We do file income tax. In the name of the raids, they transferred information on our election details, strategy, candidate list and SIR details," Banerjee stated on Thursday.
Legal Charges and Political Accusations
Police sources confirmed that the FIRs were filed under sections 3(5) for criminal act, 303(2) for theft, and 332(c) for house-trespass of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS). Additionally, Section 66 of the Information Technology Act was invoked. As per legal procedure, an inspector-rank officer, Shibaditya Pal, has been deputed to investigate the FIR lodged at the Kolkata police commissionerate.
In a parallel development, the Kolkata police also filed a suo motu FIR against the ED and CAPF on charges including trespassing and criminal intimidation. This action reportedly pre-empted a separate complaint from Pratik Jain's family, leading the Chief Minister to lodge the FIR on their behalf.
Banerjee's accusations were pointed and political. She alleged a conspiracy linked to the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of voter lists, claiming names were being deleted in West Bengal. "Is it the duty of the ED and Amit Shah to collect the party’s hard disk, candidate list?… The nasty home minister, who cannot protect the country, is taking away all my party’s documents," she said.
Directly targeting the BJP, she added, "I have never seen such dacoits… They snatched our election strategy. They looted all our documents… They can’t fight with us politically, now they are looting." The BJP has countered these allegations, accusing Banerjee of "destroying evidence," while the CPI(M) has demanded her arrest.
The incident has triggered a major political confrontation, with Mamata Banerjee leading a protest march against the ED's actions. The case underscores the deepening rift between the Trinamool Congress government in West Bengal and central agencies, setting the stage for a protracted legal and political battle.
