The Enforcement Directorate, on Thursday, moved the Calcutta High Court, alleging political interference during searches at the office and residence of I-PAC's chief Pratik Jain.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had turned up at the residence of Jain in south Kolkata and its office in Salt Lake, alleging that the central agency was attempting to seize the TMC's internal documents, hard disks, and sensitive data linked to its election strategy.
The searches were part of a money laundering probe into an alleged multi-crore rupee coal pilferage scam, according to official sources.
According to news agency PTI, the ED's counsel brought the matter before Justice Suvra Ghosh, seeking the court's intervention to ensure the probe proceeds without hindrance.
The court granted permission to the agency to file a petition with regard to the prayer. It is likely to be taken up for hearing soon, according to a lawyer connected with the matter.
The ED alleged that the CM entered Jain's residence and took away key evidence, including physical documents, electronic devices. The agency further claimed that the chief minister, along with her aides and police personnel, also went to the I-PAC office, from where documents and electronic evidence were forcibly removed.
The move comes even as the chief minister claimed that the raids were politically motivated. "I am sorry Mr. prime minister, please control your home minister... If you (BJP) cannot fight with us, then why are you coming to Bengal? Defeat us in a democratic way. You are using agencies to loot our papers, our strategy, our voters, our data, our Bengal... By doing all this, the number of seats you were getting will be reduced to zero," Mamata was quoted as saying.
The ED, however, refuted her claims, saying that the search is based on evidence and is not aimed at any political entity. It is currently ongoing at 10 locations, six in West Bengal and four in Delhi, and pertains to illegal coal smuggling, the ED said.
"The search covers various premises linked to the generation of cash, hawala transfer, etc., in that case. No party office has been searched. The search is not linked to any elections and is part of a regular crackdown on money laundering. The search is conducted strictly in accordance with established legal safeguards," according to ED.
