It’s not just political parties that have been busy in West Bengal over the past month, in the run-up to the state’s Lok Sabha elections (the first phase of the two-phase polls is being held on Thursday); Federal investigation agency’s Enforcement Directorate (ED) was also in the thick of action, conducting high-profile raids, carrying out arrests, seizing properties and filing chargesheets.
In the past month alone, according to details compiled by HT, the agency has conducted more than a dozen operations, with officials in the ED describing the campaign as crucial to uncovering financial irregularities.
“All its actions are subject to ongoing investigations and have been taken following due process,” said an emergency department officer, who did not wish to reveal his name.
However, the state’s ruling party said the BJP had weaponized investigation agencies ahead of the Assembly elections.
The most notable action taken by the ED was against the Indian Political Action Committee or I-PAC, which was first raided on April 2 in a new case related to its unaccounted funding. This was followed by the arrest of its director Vignesh Chandel on April 13. The agency claimed to have discovered proceeds of crime worth $Rs 50 crore has been linked to I-PAC so far. The federal agency issued summons last week to the wife of another I-PAC director, Barbie Jain, and his brother Pulkit. On April 14, the agency also attached assets worth $159 crore in a separate probe related to alleged coal mining in West Bengal, a probe in which I-PAC was raided in January this year.
I-PAC is working with the TMC and the latter has claimed that the BJP was hatching a conspiracy to cripple its campaign through intimidation.
Another high-profile action by the ED was seen in West Bengal on April 19, when the agency launched raids at the residence of Deputy Commissioner of Police of Kolkata Police (DCP), Shantanu Sinha Biswas, and businessman Joy Kamdar (Managing Director of Sun Enterprise) in a money laundering case related to various criminal activities such as extortion, property grabbing and unauthorized construction. Kamdar was arrested on the same day while summons were issued to Biswas, who is undergoing ED examination, in two other cases, including one related to misuse of NRI quota in admissions to private medical colleges in West Bengal. In the investigation into Joy Kamdar, the ED had previously issued summons to Gaurav Lal, IPS, Joint Commissioner of Police, Howrah Police Commissioner on April 13.
The federal agency, on April 22, summoned Bangladeshi actor and former TMC MP Nusrat Jahan in connection with its probe into PDS (Public Distribution System) ration leakage in the state.
On Tuesday, it summoned former Principal Secretary (Education) of West Bengal, Manish Jain, in connection with irregularities in the appointment of an assistant teacher. The residence of former minister Partha Chatterjee was raided on April 11 in connection with the case.
Last week, the financial crimes investigation agency also raided a Kolkata-based real estate firm, Merlin Group, promoted by Sushil Mohta and Saket Mohta. The accused allegedly forged and forged documents and fraudulently acquired various pieces of land including public lands also in the state.
Former Rajya Sabha MP Santanu Sen said, “The ED has become a tool of the BJP and is now known to everyone. If you look at the chronology, whenever there are elections in opposition-ruled states, the ED, as well as the CBI, are used as political tools to intimidate opposition leaders.”
