Four Enforcement Directorate (ED) officers, including a woman, who were conducting a search at the Loudon Street residence of I-PAC chief Pratik Jain early Thursday morning were taken aback when Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee allegedly stormed into the premises, accompanied by Kolkata Police Commissioner Manoj Verma, Deputy Commissioner (South) Priyabrata Roy and a large contingent of police personnel.
According to a detailed report submitted by the ED to the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on Friday, the Chief Minister confronted the officers during the search, asserting ownership over the documents and premises. “Everything here is mine. Jain has nothing. This is my office. What would have happened if the BJP office had been searched like this?” Mamata reportedly told the officers.
One of the ED officials reportedly responded, “Madam, this is our job. We are only on duty,” attempting to defuse the situation. However, the report claims that the explanation did little to calm tempers.
The ED’s report provides a minute-by-minute account of the events. The agency stated that its team reached Jain’s Loudon Street residence around 6.20 am on Thursday. Only four ED officers were present inside the flat, while four central force jawans were stationed outside. The Chief Minister arrived at the location at around 12 noon, just five minutes after Police Commissioner Manoj Verma reached the spot.
According to the report, Verma initially checked the identity cards of the ED officers and left the premises, only to return minutes later with the Chief Minister. The ED officers, who had flown in from Delhi for the operation, reiterated that they were merely discharging their official duties.
Despite this, the agency alleged that several files, documents and electronic devices were taken out of the premises. About 20 minutes after entering the residence, the Chief Minister was seen leaving with a green file in hand, triggering sharp questions over how documents could be removed during an ED search conducted under central force protection.
A senior ED official said the agency was powerless to intervene at that moment. “There were numerous police personnel with the Chief Minister. The Kolkata Police had practically taken over the entire residence and surrounded Jain’s house. We were only a handful of people, so it was not possible to stop the Chief Minister,” the official said.
The ED report further stated that a similar sequence of events unfolded at I-PAC’s office in Salt Lake Sector V. An ED team had reached the office around 7 am. As news of the search spread, several senior Trinamool Congress leaders, including Bidhannagar Municipal Corporation Mayor Krishna Chakraborty, councillors, Sabyasachi Dutta and Fire Minister Sujit Basu, arrived at the site. Bidhannagar Police Commissioner Mukesh Kumar also reached the office, followed later by DGP Rajiv Kumar and the Chief Minister.
Mamata arrived at the Sector V office around 12.42 pm. According to the ED’s account, within minutes of her arrival, plainclothes policemen accompanying her were seen carrying out files and documents. These papers were allegedly loaded into a vehicle in the basement of the multi-storey building around 1.45 pm. In the ensuing commotion, some documents reportedly fell on the ground, creating confusion at the site.
“The Chief Minister held a long meeting at the I-PAC office and left around 4.25 pm. By then, hundreds of Trinamool Congress workers and supporters had gathered outside, raising slogans such as ‘Jai Bangla’ and accusing central agencies like the ED and CBI of acting as ‘BJP agents’,” another ED official said, citing the report submitted to the MHA.
According to the agency, tension had peaked around noon at the elite Loudon Street housing complex, which had been cordoned off by a large contingent of Kolkata Police since morning, even as central forces remained deployed outside.
ED officials described the episode as unprecedented. “We have conducted searches across the country, but it is unheard of for a state’s administrative head to enter an active search location and remove documents,” an official said. The Chief Minister, however, has repeatedly defended her actions in public, maintaining that she intervened to protect her party’s interests.
The ED’s report to the MHA is expected to play a crucial role as the legal and political battle over the I-PAC raids continue to intensify.
Also read: Kolkata Police begin probe on Mamata's complaint against ED raids
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