Kolkata: Police have collected CCTV footage from the residence of Pratik Jain, director of political strategy firm I-PAC, in Kolkata’s Loudon Mansion on Saturday as the confrontation between the West Bengal government and the Enforcement Directorate (ED) intensified.
The West Bengal government filed a caveat in the Supreme Court on Saturday, seeking a hearing before the court passes any order in the case. The ED too has approached the Supreme Court.
A senior officer of the Kolkata Police said that the Digital Video Recorder (DVR) of the building has already been collected by investigating officials and sent to the forensic lab. Officials said the police were also drawing up a list of names whose statements would be recorded.
“The DVR has been secured. The building’s facility manager has been asked to submit the names of employees who were on duty on January 8. Statements of Jain and his family members would also be recorded,” said an officer.
On Thursday, ED searches at the offices of political strategy firm I-PAC in Kolkata and the residence of its director, Pratik Jain, turned into a pitched political battle. Even as the searches were ongoing, Banerjee stormed into Jain’s residence and took away documents and a laptop, accusing the ED of seizing her party’s internal documents and sensitive data relating to the 2026 assembly polls, including the candidate list.
With Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee taking out a huge rally in Kolkata on Friday, she vowed not to back off even as the federal agency sought a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe against her.
The agency accused the Trinamool Congress (TMC) chief of interfering in the ED’s action and taking away evidence.
In its writ petition filed before the Calcutta High Court, the ED accused Banerjee of intimidating its officers, forcibly taking away evidence, and hijacking the witnesses who accompanied the agency’s team for the raid. HT has reviewed a copy of the ED’s petition.
On Friday, the Calcutta High Court postponed hearings on petitions filed by the ED and Trinamool Congress’s poll strategy firm I-PAC, citing ruckus in the courtroom, and the Kolkata Police registered separate cases on complaints filed by Banerjee herself.
In its petition against Banerjee, the ED alleged that around ₹20 crore in proceeds of crime generated in the West Bengal coal mining racket were transferred through hawala channels to I-PAC, seeking a CBI probe against Banerjee, senior state police officers, and others for obstructing its operation.
I-PAC, in a statement, said that its role is limited to transparent and professional political consulting, uninfluenced by differences in political ideology. “We believe this [the raids] raises serious concerns and sets an unsettling precedent. Regardless, we have extended full cooperation… engaging with the process in complete accordance and respect for the law,” the statement added.
