The controversy over the Enforcement Directorate (ED) raid on locations linked to political strategy consultancy firm I-PAC (Indian Political Action Committee) in Kolkata is deepening. The ED has once again moved the Supreme Court, alleging that Trinamool Congress (TMC) supporters tried to disrupt and “hijack” the judicial proceedings. During the hearing of the case in the Calcutta High Court, due to chaos and excessive crowd in the court room, the judge had to leave the premises and the hearing had to be postponed to January 17, after which the ED has approached the apex court.
ED has said in its petition that the situation became tense during and after the searches conducted at the premises linked to I-PAC in Kolkata last week. According to the agency, due to the presence of supporters and alleged pressure, not only the investigation was affected but the court proceedings were also disrupted. ED claims that on the day of the hearing, such an atmosphere was created in the court that it was not possible to carry forward the judicial process.
Earlier also on January 9, ED had reached the Supreme Court. In that petition, the agency had alleged that the West Bengal government and Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee were obstructing the investigation of the coal scam related to its I-PAC. The ED had demanded a CBI inquiry into the entire incident, saying its “right to an impartial and independent investigation has been limited by the state machinery.”
In its latest petition, ED has given a sequence of events and mentioned a kind of “showdown” during the search. The agency alleges that its officers were legally prevented from conducting searches and seizing evidence related to coal smuggling. According to the ED, physical documents and electronic devices were forcibly removed from the premises in the presence of senior state officials, raising questions about the impartiality of the investigation.
The ED has also said that interference by the government machinery, including the state police, obstructed justice and affected the credibility of the investigation. In this connection, three ED officers who were part of the search have filed a separate petition alleging that their duties were “obstructed” by the state government.
On the other hand, the West Bengal government has filed a caveat in the Supreme Court. The purpose of the caveat is to ensure that the state government is heard before granting any interim relief to the ED. The government says that no order should be passed without hearing its side.
The controversy is related to the ED raid on I-PAC-linked locations in Kolkata, which the agency is saying is part of the investigation into the multi-crore coal scam. The ED claims that alleged crime-proceeds of around Rs 10 crore were routed to I-PAC through hawala channels and used as payment for the services of Trinamool Congress during the 2022 Goa Assembly elections. The matter is now before the Supreme Court, where the further hearing on this confrontation between the ED and the West Bengal government is expected to take an important direction.
Also read:
Technical deviation during third stage in PSLV-C62 mission, ISRO is analyzing data
Enraged by the statement of Rezaul government, CM Sarma said that he is trying to make ‘Miya Land’!
“Thousands of suicide bombers ready”, audio of Jaish-e-Mohammed chief Masood Azhar leaked
Comments are closed.