The Enforcement Directorate raided the office and residence of political consultancy firm I-PAC in Kolkata on Thursday, prompting West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee to intervene and accuse the agency of stealing Trinamool Congress documents ahead of assembly elections. Banerjee described the action as political vendetta and planned a protest rally for Friday. The raids are linked to a money-laundering investigation into an alleged coal pilferage scam.
On Thursday, January 8, 2026, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) conducted searches at the Kolkata residence of Pratik Jain, co-founder and director of the Indian Political Action Committee (I-PAC), and at the firm's office in Salt Lake's Godrej Waterside building. The raids are part of a money-laundering probe connected to an alleged multi-crore coal smuggling case, drawing attention to I-PAC's role in Trinamool Congress (TMC) election strategies for the upcoming 2026 West Bengal Assembly polls.
The events unfolded dramatically around noon at Jain's Loudon Street residence, where Kolkata Police Commissioner Manoj Verma arrived at 11:45 a.m. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee reached the site shortly after, entering the house and emerging at 12:40 p.m. with a green plastic folder and a laptop. She claimed these contained vital TMC documents, including details on candidates and the party's Strategic Information Report (SIR). Banerjee then proceeded to the I-PAC office, entering via the basement to reach the 11th floor, while TMC supporters gathered outside, guarding elevators and restricting access.
Conflicting accounts emerged: the ED accused Banerjee of storming in and removing key evidence, while she alleged that ED officials had confiscated hard disks, financial papers, and political data using a forensic team. "They have raided the residence of our IT chief. They were confiscating my party’s documents and hard disks, which has details about our candidates for the assembly polls. I have brought those back," Banerjee said. She further claimed, "They (ED) have stolen everything, all data, SIR list," and accused the agency of acting on orders from Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah to sabotage TMC's preparations.
Banerjee termed the raids "undemocratic and unjust," calling Shah "naughty" for misusing agencies before elections. "You are using agencies to loot our papers, our strategy, our voters, our data, our Bengal," she told reporters. She urged Modi to "control" his Home Minister and defeat TMC democratically.
In response, West Bengal Governor C.V. Ananda Bose noted legal and constitutional issues in the raids and the ED's move to the High Court, mentioning multiple complaints received at Raj Bhavan. On Friday, Banerjee planned a protest rally from Jadavpur 8B bus stand to Hazra crossing, urging public participation against what she called a political vendetta targeting the TMC-linked firm.
