'CM Stole Documents': ED Moves Calcutta HC, Seeks Return of Files Mamata Took Away During I-PAC Raid

Kolkata (West Bengal): Amid scenes of massive chaos and a tense standoff outside the I-PAC building in Kolkata’s Salt Lake, a vehicle carrying official West Bengal government files was observed leaving the premises under heavy security. 

The incident unfolded on Thursday (8th March, 2026) morning as the Enforcement Directorate (ED) carried out simultaneous raids at the offices of the political consultancy firm and the residence of its head, Pratik Jain, in connection with a high-profile coal pilferage and money laundering investigation. Reports from the ground suggest that the documents seen being transported are the very same files that were allegedly "snatched" from the ED raid location earlier in the day.

 The situation escalated dramatically around noon when Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, accompanied by Kolkata Police Commissioner Manoj Verma, arrived personally at Pratik Jain’s residence on Loudon Street. 
“They were confiscating my party’s documents and hard disks, which contain sensitive details about our candidates for the upcoming assembly polls. I have brought those back,” Banerjee declared, labeling the federal agency’s actions as “political vendetta” and a “theft of democratic data.”

Following her visit to Jain’s residence, the Chief Minister proceeded to the I-PAC headquarters at the Godrej Waterside building in Salt Lake. There, she alleged that an ED forensic team had been "transferring" the Trinamool Congress’s (TMC) internal election strategies, voter research, and financial papers onto their own systems since 6:00 AM.

According to Banerjee, I-PAC serves as the authorized IT and strategy wing of the TMC, making the seizure of its digital assets a direct strike on the party’s electoral preparedness. “Is it the duty of the Home Minister and the ED to collect a political party’s candidate list?” she questioned, daring the BJP to fight the TMC “politically rather than through muscle power.”

ED moves High Court over "illegal intrusion"
The federal agency has hit back sharply, accusing "constitutional functionaries" of illegal intrusion and obstruction of justice. In a formal statement, the ED alleged that the Chief Minister, her aides, and the state police "forcibly removed physical documents and electronic evidence" that were critical to the coal smuggling probe.

The agency claims that its investigation has traced "proceeds of crime" from illegal coal mining being diverted through hawala channels to I-PAC to fund previous election campaigns. By the afternoon, the ED had moved the Calcutta High Court, seeking urgent intervention against what it described as the "unconstitutional interference" of the state government in a federal investigation.