The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Thursday carried out searches at the office of political consultancy firm I-PAC (Indian Political Action Committee) and its director Pratik Jain, officials familiar with the development said.
While the agency confirmed that it was searching the office of I-PAC at Salt Lake in Kolkata as well as the residence of Jain at Loudon Street and another businessman’s house, officials didn’t divulge the allegations under which the action was being taken.
The ED teams were accompanied by officials from a central paramilitary force.
West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee reached the TMC’s IT cell and I-Pac’s main office on the 11th floor of a building at Salt Lake around 12:40pm.
Amid a huge ruckus, piles of documents were brought out of the office and piled into a car that was closely guarded by state police personnel.
Jain took charge of I-Pac after its founder Prashant Kishor, left in 2023 and formed the Jan Suraaj Party in Bihar in 2024. Kishor was roped in by TMC after BJP won 18 of Bengal’s 42 Lok Sabha seats in 2019. The TMC’s tally came down from 34 seats to 22 that year.
{{/usCountry}}Jain took charge of I-Pac after its founder Prashant Kishor, left in 2023 and formed the Jan Suraaj Party in Bihar in 2024. Kishor was roped in by TMC after BJP won 18 of Bengal’s 42 Lok Sabha seats in 2019. The TMC’s tally came down from 34 seats to 22 that year.
{{/usCountry}}There was a similar showdown in 2019 when the Central Bureau of Investigation raided the residential quarters of the IPS officer Rajeev Kumar to question him in connection with some chit fund investigations. Banerjee not only rushed to the spot and targeted the Centre but also led a sit-in-agitation.
I-PAC has been instrumental in the 2021 assembly elections victory for Trinamool Congress (TMC). The firm has also successfully managed campaigns for diverse parties such as Congress, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), Janata Dal United (JDU), and Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK).
Officials familiar with the ED action, without going into the specifics, said I-PAC office functionaries have been asked to provide certain documents/details.
It is for the first time that the office of I-PAC has been searched by any federal agency.