ED tried to seize TMC’s internal data during raid at I-PAC:CM Mamta

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Thursday conducted searches in a Fake Government Job Scam against an organised gang across the country.But in Kolkata , the agency faced stiff opposition from none other than the CM. West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has walked out with a laptop, phone and multiple documents from the house of Prateek Jain, the chief of election consultant IPAC during a raid by the Enforcement Directorate, the central agency has alleged. The ED has gone to the High Court, which is likely to hear the matter on Friday.

Ms Banerjee alleged that ED officials were attempting to seize TMC’s hard disks, internal documents and sensitive organisational data during a search operation at the residence of I-PAC chief Prateek Jain in Kolkata.Banerjee said the raid at the residence of Jain, whom she termed as the party's IT chief, was "politically motivated and unconstitutional". They were confiscating my party’s documents and hard disks, which has details about our candidates for the assembly polls. I have brought those back, Banerjee told reporters.“Is it the duty of the ED to collect political party data?” the CM asked.

VIDEO | Kolkata: West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee (@MamataOfficial) visits I-PAC Director Prateek Jain’s residence after an ED raid and says, “Is it the duty of Home Minister Amit Shah and the ED to take away all my party documents? If I go to the BJP party office, what will be the… pic.twitter.com/lRQOpKtVN4

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While Banerjee claims that the raid was politically motivated and engineered by the BJP, the ED has denied the allegations, saying it was "not targeted at any political establishment". "Mamata Banerjee has obstructed the investigation. She is the Chief Minister of West Bengal and is defending those involved in coal smuggling and money laundering," the agency said. "It is clarified that the search is evidence based and is not targeted at any political establishment. No party office has been searched. The search is not linked to any elections, and is part of regular crackdown on money laundering. The search is conducted strictly in accordance with established legal safeguards," the Enforcement Directorate has said in a statement.