Kolkata, Jan 8 (IANS) The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Thursday raided the Salt Lake Sector V office of Indian Political Action Committee (I-PAC), a consulting firm working for Trinamool Congress since 2019.

According to sources in the central investigating agency, a special team from Delhi arrived for the operation.

ED officials also visited the Loudon Street residence of I-PAC’s co-founder, Pratik Jain, where searches are also underway. Pratik Jain, is also the director of I-PAC.

Following the development, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee went to Jain’s residence in central Kolkata. Kolkata Police Commissioner Manoj Verma also went to his residence.

According to ED sources, the raid is connected to an old case registered in Delhi concerning coal smuggling. I-PAC’s name has surfaced in connection with several transactions in that case, according to ED sources.

In connection with the same case, another ED team visited the residence of a businessman in Posta of Burrabazar area in north Kolkata.

The ED launched the operation with the assistance of central forces. The sudden raid caught the entire I-PAC team by surprise as they are now busy with preparations for upcoming Assembly polls in West Bengal.

When the operation began in the early morning, there were very few people at the I-PAC office with only a few employees working the night shift. Sources said, the raid began in their presence. The I-PAC office is located on the 11th floor of a multi-story building in Sector V. The central forces sealed off that floor, effectively preventing anyone from entering or leaving the office.

Sources said, as the day progressed, senior officials of the company held meetings among themselves via video calls from their respective homes. Meetings were also held with I-PAC members in various districts.

I-PAC was founded by Prashant Kishor ahead of the 2014 Lok Sabha polls. I-PAC has been working with the Trinamool Congress and the West Bengal government post-2019 Lok Sabha polls. I-PAC was instrumental in the party’s electoral victory in the 2021 Assembly polls with a thumping majority and also in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.

Following the exit of Kishor from I-PAC, who moved into full time politics, the organisation is led by three directors: Pratik Jain, Vinesh Chandel and Rishi Raj Singh. Jain is the point man between the organisation and the Trinamool Congress.

It may be noted that the Trinamool Congress all-India general secretary and Diamond Harbour MP Abhishek Banerjee has been questioned several times by both the central agencies, the ED and the CBI, in connection with the coal smuggling scam over the last few years. Today’s raids came just months before the state is all set to go into polls.

Pratik, the head of I-PAC, is known to be influential in state politics and administration. He met Chief Minister Banerjee at Nabanna (the state secretariat) on several occasions.

Before the Assembly elections, I-PAC also acted as a bridge between the ruling party and the government regarding the implementation of various government schemes. While I-PAC maintains regular contact with top administrative officials, its team also works closely with Abhishek Banerjee, one of the ruling party’s top leaders, and his office. In fact, I-PAC’s role in deciding who would be the Trinamool candidates in the Assembly elections and who would be dropped was quite significant.

It is also a coincidence that BJP’s national president J.P. Nadda is arriving in Kolkata on Thursday. He is scheduled to meet with state BJP leaders. Both the ruling and Opposition camps are closely monitoring how long the ED’s raid on the I-PAC office and Jain’s residence lasts.

–IANS

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