The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Thursday (January 15) made shocking revelations in the Supreme Court against West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. During the hearing on its petition, the federal probe agency alleged that Banerjee snatched an ED official’s phone during raids at I-PAC’s office in Kolkata.
Solicitor General (SG) Tushar Mehta, representing the probe agency, alleged that the West Bengal Chief Minister entered the I-PAC office while the raids were being carried out. The SG said that when ED officials were collecting incriminating material at the I-PAC office, Banerjee and West Bengal police officers barged in and snatched the material, including the mobile phone of an ED official, reported India Today.
The ED also sought the suspension of West Bengal police officers who entered the I-PAC office during the raid. SG Mehta further alleged Banerjee of theft and blamed the state government for obstructing the federal agency.
The ED officials had shown their identity cards. They had the courage to take incriminating material into their custody, which is theft, and then publicly declare they did it? This is not happening for the first time. Please do something that stops this once and for all,” the Solicitor General said, as quoted by the media house.
When Justice Prashant Kumar Mishra asked the ED why it had gone there and what exactly it was investigating, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta said it was a Rs 2,742 crore multi-state money laundering case. He further stated that it had been found that illegally extracted coal was being sold to a company.
The matter is very serious and that it will issue notice to the state government,” the Supreme Court replied.
Meanwhile, Kapil Sibal represented Banerjee in the top court. During the hearing, Sibal questioned the timing of the ED raids on I-PAC. The senior advocate said the ED had visited the state after two years, just before the assembly polls.
The ED on January 8 conducted searches at the premises of I-PAC and the residence of its director, Pratik Jain, in Kolkata as part of a money laundering probe into an alleged multi-crore rupee coal pilferage scam. However, drama unfolded when Banerjee and West Bengal police officers entered the I-PAC office and took away several files. The West Bengal Chief Minister accused the central agency of overreach and alleged political vendetta.
A day after the raids, Banerjee and other leaders of the Trinamool Congress (TMC) hit the streets protesting against the ED action.
On January 10, the federal probe agency moved the Supreme Court after the Calcutta High Court deferred the hearing in the I-PAC raids case against the West Bengal government. According to reports, the ED alleged in its petition that its investigation against I-PAC was obstructed by the state government. The probe agency also sought a probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in the matter.
Meanwhile, the West Bengal government also filed a caveat in the top court, seeking that no order be passed without hearing its arguments
