In a writ petition filed in the Calcutta High Court, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Friday accused the West Bengal Police of working in collusion with Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and obstructing its officers during the search operation conducted in Kolkata on January 8 and failing to discharge their public duty in “gross disregard of law”.
In a 28-page plea, the ED said the state police prevented its officers from performing their official duties under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002.
The situation worsened after the Chief Minister on Thursday entered the residential premises of Prateek Jain, director of political consultancy firm I-PAC, during an ED search and took away material, including physical documents and electronic devices, described by the agency as “crucial evidence”, the agency alleged.
The ED said it has filed the writ petition in the High Court to instill public confidence in the functioning of the state administration and to immediately stop the “trespasses” being allegedly committed by the state police and the Chief Minister.
According to the petition, the West Bengal Police prevented ED officials from discharging their statutory duties in violation of the provisions of the Indian Civil Defense Code, 2023, prompting the agency to seek judicial intervention.
The petition states, “This writ petition has been filed in exercise of the writ jurisdiction of the Hon’ble Court to restore public confidence in the functioning of the State Government and to immediately stop the extremist actions of the State Police and the Hon’ble Chief Minister of the State, Ms. Mamata Banerjee. The West Bengal State Police in connivance with the Hon’ble Chief Minister of West Bengal has committed blatant disregard of law and has violated its mandate to protect the public as mandated under the provisions of the Indian Civil Security Code, 2023 (BNSS, 2023).” has failed to discharge its duty and has obstructed the petitioner officers in the discharge of their official duties as mandated under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002.”
The document states that the ED’s search action against I-PAC and other entities linked to the coal smuggling case was initiated on January 8.
During the search, it noted, “West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee entered the premises and with the help of policemen forcibly took possession of all digital devices and important incriminating documents from the possession of the authorized officer. A similar incident took place in another premises, where files were taken away in her car.”
According to the petition, “concrete evidence recovered during the investigation revealed that criminal proceeds of at least Rs 20 crore were transferred to IPAC through hawala channels.”
It said that in continuation of the ongoing investigation and to trace the proceeds of crime and its utilization, a search operation was launched against IPAC and some other entities on January 8 in connection with the coal smuggling case.
It said, “During the search, various digital devices were seized, which were suspected to be related to the PMLA investigation. During the search, at about 11.15 pm, Deputy Commissioner of Police, South Kolkata, IPS Pryobroto, visited the building premises and informed the authorized officer that the police had received a complaint of house intrusion. Subsequently, for verification of the correct facts regarding the proceedings, the team’s identity cards and search authorizations were shown to the DCP. Subsequently, Kolkata Police Commissioner, IPS Manoj Kumar Verma also entered the premises. When the police officers were being briefed about the search proceedings under Section 17 of the PMLA, 2002, at about 12.05 pm, the then Chief Minister of the State of West Bengal, Mamata Banerjee (who has been clearly identified) entered the premises despite her express request not to interfere in the ongoing search proceedings under the PMLA.”
However, in violation of all laws and as per orders, Mamata Banerjee with the assistance of police personnel forcibly seized all digital devices as well as important incriminating documents from the possession of the authorized officer and left the premises at around 12:15 pm. All proceedings have been recorded in the Panchnama duly prepared in the premises on January 8, 2026. Further, another of the 10 premises searched by this Directorate on January 8, 2026 was the office premises of Indian PAC Consulting Private Limited, located at 11th Floor, Godrej Waterside, Tower 1, Ring Road, Sector V, Bidhannagar, Kolkata.
The ED said in the petition, “Assistant Director Vikram Ahlawat was authorized by Deputy Director Robin Bansal vide Authorization No. 09/2025 dated January 7, 2025, to conduct search and seizure proceedings at the office premises of Indian PAC Consulting Pvt. Ltd. under Section 17 of PMLA, 2002, and the proceedings of the search and seizure operation were conducted at Indian PAC Consulting Pvt. The Panchnama prepared in the office premises of Ltd. was recorded on January 8, 2026.
“However, after receiving the incident report dated January 8, 2026, it was revealed that the officials of the Enforcement Directorate were not allowed to perform their lawful duties and were prevented from doing so,” it said.
The ED also noted that “several FIRs have been lodged maliciously with the aim of targeting and criminally intimidating officers of the Enforcement Directorate for carrying out their official functions under the PMLA.”
In view of the extraordinary developments, the ED through its urgent writ petition sought immediate intervention of the Calcutta High Court in the matter.
In a statement, the agency clarified on Thursday that “the search was evidence-based and was not aimed at targeting any political establishment.”
The ED had said on Thursday, “No party office has been searched. This search is not related to any election, but is part of the routine action against money laundering. This search has been conducted in accordance with the established legal safeguards.”
ED said that the search was conducted on the basis of the FIR number of the Kolkata unit of the Central Bureau of Investigation.
In respect of RC0102020A0022 registered against Anup Majee and others dated November 27, 2020, for which ED had registered Enforcement Case Information Report (ECIR) vide ECIR/17/HIU/2020 dated November 28, 2020.
During the investigation, the ED said it was revealed that the coal smuggling gang led by Anoop Majhi used to steal coal from ECL lease areas in West Bengal and mine it illegally.
“Subsequently, this coal was sold to various factories and plants located in Bankura, Bardhaman, Purulia and other districts of West Bengal. Investigation revealed that a major portion of this coal was sold to Shakambhari group of companies,” it said.
The investigation also revealed links with hawala operators. Multiple evidences, including statements from several individuals, confirmed the hawala ring. The investigation revealed that a hawala operator involved in hiding the money derived from coal smuggling had helped Indian Pacific Consulting Private Limited in transactions worth crores of rupees.
It further said that persons associated with the generation of income from coal smuggling, hawala operators and handlers were included in the searches conducted under PMLA on January 8, 2026.
The agency further said, “I-PAC is also one of the entities linked to hawala money. During yesterday’s operation, six premises in West Bengal and four in Delhi were targeted.”
