The Enforcement Directorate raided the office of the political consultancy firm I-PAC in Salt Lake and the residence of its head Pratik Jain on Thursday morning.

Jain was at his fourth floor residence when the raid took place and was being interrogated. Around noon on Thursday, chief minister Mamata Banerjee arrived at his residence.

The raids which started early on Thursday morning are going on simultaneously at the office of the I-PAC office on 11th floor of a building in Salt Lake, Jain's residence on Loudon street and another trader's office at Burrabazar's Posta.

Founded by Prashant Kishor ahead of the 2014 Lok Sabha polls, I-PAC has been working with the Trinamool Congress and the Bengal government post-2019 Lok Sabha polls, though Kishor has moved into full time politics. I-PAC was instrumental in the party returning to power in the 2021 Assembly polls with a thumping majority and also the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.

Sources said the raids were being carried out in connection with a coal smuggling case.

The Trinamool general secretary and Diamond Harbour MP Abhishesk Banerjee has been quizzed several times by both the central agencies, the ED and the CBI, in connection with the scam over the last few years.

The raids come just months before the state is due to go into polls with the BJP the main challenger.

Abhishek has said repeatedly despite the allegations and the involvement of central probe agencies against the Trinamool and its party leaders, the Trinamool will return to power for a fourth straight term.