A police complaint alleging theft has added a fresh turn to the Enforcement Directorate’s (ED) searches at the residence of Pratik Jain, director of political consultancy firm Indian Political Action Committee (I-PAC), in Kolkata.
According to police, Jain’s family approached the Shakespeare Sarani police station on Thursday, hours after ED officials concluded a nearly nine-hour search operation at their Loudon Street home.
“The search operation, which began at 6 am, continued for over nine hours,” an official of the probe agency said, adding that ED officials left Jain's residence around 3 pm.
“Shortly after that, Pratik Jain's wife filed a complaint at Shakespeare Sarani police station alleging theft by the ED. It is alleged in the complaint that essential documents were stolen from their home during the raid,” a police officer told PTI.
The police confirmed that the complaint has been taken on record. “We have received a formal allegation of theft against the ED and are investigating the matter. Appropriate action will be taken based on the findings,” the officer added.
The searches were part of an ED investigation into an alleged multi-crore rupee coal pilferage scam. Official sources said the agency conducted raids at the I-PAC office in Salt Lake and at Jain’s residence in Kolkata.
The firm’s premises were among around 10 locations searched across the country, including four in Delhi, with central paramilitary personnel present.
I-PAC provides political consultancy services to the Trinamool Congress (TMC) and also manages the party’s IT and media operations.
The day’s events took a political turn when West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee arrived at Jain’s Loudon Street residence during the ongoing ED operation.
She later went to the I-PAC office in Salt Lake, alleging that the central agency was trying to seize the TMC’s internal documents, hard disks and sensitive data linked to the party’s election strategy.
The development comes at a politically sensitive moment, with West Bengal Assembly elections scheduled in the first half of this year.
