What Happened During the I-PAC Office Raid?
Synopsis
Key Takeaways
Kolkata, Jan 10 (NationPress) The Enforcement Directorate's (ED) regional office in Kolkata dispatched a comprehensive report to its headquarters in New Delhi regarding the events that unfolded on January 8. This pertains to the coordinated raid and search operations executed by the central agency at the Kolkata office of the India Political Action Committee (I-PAC) and the residence of I-PAC co-founder Pratik Jain.
Upon review of the report from the Kolkata office, it will be sent to the Union Home Ministry, which had requested it on Friday.
The ED, which operates under the Union Finance Ministry, had already provided an initial report to its parent ministry, marking an important step towards submitting additional findings to the Union Home Ministry, as indicated by sources familiar with the situation.
Meanwhile, the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), which accompanied the ED officials during the raids, has also submitted its own report to the Union Home Ministry.
The CRPF reports to the Union Home Ministry.
As the simultaneous raids were conducted at the I-PAC office in Salt Lake on the outskirts of Kolkata and at Pratik Jain's residence on Loudon Street in central Kolkata, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee visited both locations. She first stopped by Jain's house before heading to the I-PAC office, accompanied by high-ranking state officials.
Banerjee reportedly departed the locations with several paper files and electronic documents. Subsequently, the Union Home Ministry, led by Amit Shah, has requested a thorough report from the ED.
Sources close to the investigation indicated that the report provided by ED’s Kolkata office contains detailed accounts of the agency officials' experiences during the raid and search operations at both sites.
The report also includes information regarding the involvement of senior police and administrative officials from the state government who were present with the Chief Minister during the raids.