Chief minister Mamata Banerjee had sent a letter to Shakespeare Sarani police station last Thursday informing them about her impending visit to the apartment of Pratik Jain, a few minutes before she herself reached the Loudon Street address where the I-PAC chief lives and where a raid was conducted by the Enforcement Directorate (ED), said sources in Kolkata Police.

The letter sent by the Mamata was delivered to the police station by an authorised representative of the chief minister, police sources said on Sunday. The letter not only informed the police about her impending visit to the Jain residence but also levelled charges of theft and trespassing against the ED officers who were conducting a raid at Jain’s house.

Mamata has been accused of disrupting the raid conducted by the ED and taking away sensitive documents, claiming that the documents were her party’s documents, as reported last Thursday.

Sources in the police said the chief minister had communicated with the police about her visit to Jain’s home shortly before she had reached the Loudon Street address around 12.45pm.

Before that, Kolkata Police had also received an email from the Enforcement Directorate, which informed officers of the Shakespeare Sarani police station about a raid being conducted at the apartment of the I-PAC chief.

“The ED officers who conducted the raid informed the local police only after the raid had started. Sometime later, the chief minister had sent a letter to the police station informing about her impending visit to Pratik Jain’s house and also informing that ED had trespassed the apartment of her political party consultancy agency’s chief,” said an officer of Kolkata Police.

Based on the letter sent by the CM, Kolkata Police started a formal case against the central agency, charging them with theft, trespassing, criminal intimidation and sections of the Information Technology Act.

The city police seized the register from the reception area of the Jain residence on Loudon Street on Sunday. Sources said that the police found no entries recorded by the ED officers on the day of the raid.

“The CCTV footage has been collected. Now we are in the process of collecting material evidence and witness statements,” said an officer.

A senior officer said that neither the ED nor the central forces made any entry in the register while entering or leaving.

“It is not unusual that the agency did not make any entry while conducting a search or a raid. Yet, the register has been seized,” said an officer.

Sources said a security guard who was posted on the spot on Thursday had claimed before the police that he had tried to alert the police after the central forces had entered the building; however, the team members allegedly stopped him and took away his phone for some time.

Police said they would examine the allegations.

Soon after Mamata took possession of various documents and files from the Jain residence, asserting they were her party’s, the central agency sought intervention from the high court. They called for a CBI investigation into the matter and requested the return of the ‘documents and electronic evidence’ that Mamata had removed, which had disrupted the raid.

The raid, which was in progress, was being conducted in connection with a coal pilferage scam being probed by the ED.