The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Thursday conducted searches at multiple premises linked to political consultancy firm Indian Political Action Committee (I-PAC) across several cities in connection with the alleged West Bengal coal smuggling case.
The raids were carried out in Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Mumbai and Delhi, besides locations linked to the firm, including the residence and office of Rishi Raj Singh, one of I-PAC’s directors.
The action forms part of an ongoing probe into alleged coal pilferage and illegal trade in West Bengal, being investigated under provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act.
This is not the first such operation targeting the firm. In January, the ED had conducted searches at I-PAC offices as well as at the Kolkata residence of its co-founder and director Pratik Jain. Both Singh and Jain were subsequently summoned to record their statements.
The two later approached the Delhi High Court seeking to quash the notices, citing their engagement in election-related work in West Bengal and Tamil Nadu.
Also read: I-PAC raid: WB govt questions maintainability of ED's writ in SC
Sources indicated that the agency’s action against Jain followed the emergence of “specific” evidence allegedly linking him to hawala transactions and cash dealings connected to the coal scam. Jain, an IIT-Bombay alumnus, is also associated with the IT cell of the Trinamool Congress (TMC).
The ED’s probe originates from a November 2020 FIR registered by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), which alleged a multi-crore coal pilferage racket involving Eastern Coalfields mines in the Kunustoria and Kajora areas near Asansol.
Local coal operator Anup Majhi has been named as the prime accused in the case.
The central agency has previously questioned TMC MP Abhishek Banerjee, nephew of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, and claimed that he was among the beneficiaries of funds generated through the alleged illegal coal trade.
The searches come amid heightened political activity in poll-bound regions, with the investigation continuing to widen its scope into financial trails linked to the alleged racket.
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