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NEW DELHI: The Enforcement Directorate connected Saturday moved the Supreme Court alleging interference and obstruction by the Mamata Banerjee-led West Bengal authorities during hunt operations astatine the Kolkata office of governmental consultancy steadfast Indian Political Action Committee(I-PAC) and the residence of its manager Pratik Jain.
Meanwhile, the authorities authorities filed a caveat seeking to beryllium heard earlier immoderate adverse bid is passed.The Bengal government’s caveat was filed aft the ED carried retired searches connected Thursday astatine I-PAC’s bureau and Jain’s residence arsenic portion of a wealth laundering probe linked to an alleged multi-crore rupee ember pilferage scam. A caveat allows a enactment to guarantee that nary bid is issued without giving it an accidental to contiguous its case.The ED has alleged that main curate Mamata Banerjee entered the raid locations and took distant what it described arsenic “key” evidence, including carnal documents and physics devices. Banerjee has rejected the allegations and accused the cardinal bureau of overreach.On Friday, the ED approached the Calcutta precocious tribunal seeking judicial intervention, accusing the authorities police, allegedly acting successful collusion with the main minister, of obstructing its officials during the January 8 hunt operation.
In its writ petition, the bureau said the constabulary failed to discharge their nationalist work successful “flagrant and blatant disregard to law” and prevented ED officers from exercising their powers nether the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002.The Calcutta precocious tribunal adjourned the proceeding successful the ED versus Trinamool Congress substance till January 14, 2026, citing an unconducive ambiance successful the courtroom owed to dense congestion caused by the beingness of a ample fig of lawyers.In its 28-page petition, the ED alleged that the concern escalated aft the Chief Minister entered the residential premises of Pratik Jain during the hunt and removed incriminating material. The bureau said it had invoked the High Court’s writ jurisdiction to “instil nationalist confidence” successful the functioning of the authorities medication and to instantly halt what it termed arsenic “overreach” by the authorities constabulary and the Chief Minister.The raids and consequent tribunal proceedings sparked crisp governmental reactions. The Bharatiya Janata Party’s West Bengal portion questioned the relation of I-PAC successful the functioning of the authorities authorities aft Banerjee said the steadfast was an authorised squad of the All India Trinamool Congress.In a station connected X, BJP West Bengal said, “Mamata Banerjee said that IPAC is successful complaint of Trinamool. It is their interior substance if they privation a backstage bureau to tally the enactment and determine tickets and organisational positions. But what were Government of West Bengal documents doing successful the IPAC office? Is IPAC intervening successful the functioning of the West Bengal government?”Calling it a law issue, the BJP alleged that bureaucrats appeared to beryllium reporting to a backstage bureau and demanded clarification from the main minister.
“This is simply a nonstop situation to the Constitution, wherever the bureaucracy appears to beryllium reporting to a backstage agency. In the past also, we person seen emails sent by bureaucrats to IPAC employees to determine the run of the West Bengal government. Mamata Banerjee is accountable to the radical of West Bengal and should clarify whether an bureau from extracurricular the state, staffed by radical from different states, is intervening successful the functioning of the government,” the station said.Earlier connected Friday, respective Trinamool Congress MPs were detained successful New Delhi portion protesting extracurricular Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s bureau against the ED raid connected the I-PAC office. Condemning the detentions, Banerjee described the enactment arsenic “shameful and unacceptable” successful a station connected X, accusing the BJP of “double standards” successful its attraction of protests by ruling enactment leaders and absorption MPs.
