Kolkata

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee will lead a protest in Kolkata on January 9 in response to the Enforcement Directorate (ED) raids conducted at the office of political consultancy firm Indian Political Action Committee (I-PAC) in connection with the alleged fake government job scam.

The ED on Thursday alleged that Banerjee entered the residential premises of Prateek Jain, director of I-PAC, during an ongoing search operation in Kolkata and removed “key evidence”, including physical documents and electronic devices.

In a statement, the central agency said its officers were carrying out search proceedings in a “peaceful and professional manner” when the Chief Minister arrived at the premises along with a large number of police personnel.

“Banerjee entered the residential premises of Prateek Jain and took away key evidence, including physical documents and electronic devices,” the ED claimed.

Earlier in the day, Banerjee visited the I-PAC office located on a public road and accused the ED of unlawfully seizing party-related data, including laptops, mobile phones and strategic documents. She alleged that forensic experts transferred data during the raid, calling it a “crime”, and challenged Union Home Minister Amit Shah to contest the Trinamool Congress (TMC) politically and democratically in West Bengal.

The Chief Minister maintained that I-PAC was not a private entity but an authorised team working for the All India Trinamool Congress (AITC). She claimed that the ED confiscated sensitive party documents, including material related to the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, despite the TMC being a registered political party that regularly files income tax returns.

Meanwhile, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) launched a sharp attack on Banerjee over her visit to the raided premises.

In a post on X, the BJP alleged that the Chief Minister’s actions during the ED operation raised “disturbing questions” and pointed to a “deeper conspiracy”. The party claimed that a sitting Chief Minister rushing to an investigation site to secure party documents and hard disks was not routine intervention but an attempt to conceal incriminating material.

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“If there is nothing to hide in West Bengal, why would a Chief Minister scramble to secure files from an official investigation site?” the BJP said, asserting that the truth would eventually emerge and that the people of Bengal would respond electorally.