Dragged by police outside Amit Shah’s office! 8 TMC MPs detained as ED row explodes

The protesting MPs — Derek O’Brien, Satabdi Roy, Mahua Moitra, Bapi Haldar, Saket Gokhale, Pratima Mondal, Kirti Azad and Dr Sharmila Sarkar — were detained and forcibly removed by police after they resisted evacuation. They were later shifted to a bus.

Condemning the action, the TMC alleged that law enforcement was being used to silence political dissent.

TMC MPs protesting outside Amit Shah's office. Photo: AITC Media Team

In a post on X, the party said: “What kind of arrogance is this, @AmitShah? Are you now using your Delhi Police to assault elected representatives just to crush democracy? Is this how dissent is silenced in your India? Admit it, YOU ARE RATTLED!

“First, the shameless misuse of the ED. Now, an attack on the peaceful dharna of our eight MPs. This desperation exposes your fear. You may try to choke democracy, but Bengal will not be cowed. Shame on you and your police!”

What’s the matter?

The ED on Thursday conducted raids at 10 locations — six in West Bengal and four in Delhi — in connection with its probe into the alleged coal smuggling scam. Of the six locations in Kolkata, two were linked to political consultancy firm I-PAC, which works with the TMC.

Searches reportedly began around 7 am at the ED office in Salt Lake Sector V and at the Loudon Street residence of I-PAC India head Pratik Jain in Kolkata.

Mamata Banerjee addressing media outside Pratik Jain's residence. Photo: AITC Media Team

Hours into the raid, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee made an unannounced visit to Jain’s residence. She later emerged carrying a green file, a laptop and a mobile phone, believed to belong to the I-PAC official.

Banerjee subsequently visited the I-PAC office, climbed to the 11th floor and retrieved additional documents, which were transferred to a vehicle by her security personnel.

What are the allegations levelled by the Chief Minister?

Banerjee accused the BJP and Union Home Minister Amit Shah of misusing central agencies to seize her party’s election strategy and candidate list ahead of upcoming polls scheduled for the summer.

Calling Shah a “nasty and naughty Home Minister”, she said, “They were trying to seize my party documents. What will happen if I do the same with the BJP?”

Addressing the media from the I-PAC office, Banerjee alleged that crucial election-related work and activities linked to the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process were disrupted.

“This is a crime. Our election work is going on. Work related to SIR to help people is also ongoing. They have transferred all of that. The tables are empty,” she said, adding that recreating the documents would take so long that elections might be over.

“If Amit Shah wants to win the election, he should fight it at the polls. But why raid our party’s IT sector and snatch away all our documents?” she asked.

What did the ED say?

The Enforcement Directorate rejected Banerjee’s claims, alleging that the Chief Minister “forcibly removed physical documents and electronic evidence” during the searches.

In an official statement, the agency said raids were conducted at 10 locations as part of an evidence-based probe and were not politically motivated.

“The search action was undertaken in a peaceful manner till the arrival of the Chief Minister of West Bengal along with police personnel and officers of the West Bengal administration, who forcibly removed physical documents and electronic evidence in two of the premises,” the ED said.

Clarifying its position, the agency added: “The search is evidence-based and is not targeted at any political establishment. No party office has been searched. The action is not linked to any elections and is part of a regular crackdown on money laundering, conducted strictly in accordance with established legal safeguards.”

The ED said the raids were linked to a coal smuggling syndicate allegedly led by Anup Majhee, who is accused of stealing and illegally excavating coal from Eastern Coalfields Limited (ECL) leasehold areas in West Bengal.

What’s next?

Both the ED and I-PAC approached the Calcutta High Court on Thursday. The hearing is likely to be held on Friday.

While the ED accused the Mamata Banerjee-led West Bengal government of obstructing the investigation, I-PAC alleged that the agency exceeded its jurisdiction and targeted a political entity at the behest of another party.

Banerjee has taken the issue to the streets and is scheduled to lead a TMC rally on Friday from Jadavpur 8B Bus Stand to Hazra More, beginning at 2 pm.