New Delhi : The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has filed another plea in the Supreme Court, seeking the suspension of West Bengal’s Director General of Police (DGP) Rajeev Kumar ahead of today’s hearing on last week’s agency’s raids on political consulting firm, I-PAC. I-PAC has been engaged in curating poll strategy for the Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress for the upcoming Assembly elections scheduled later this year.
The ED, in its plea, flagged the conduct of Rajeev Kumar, saying he sat on a dharna (sit-in protest) with Mamata Banerjee when he was the Kolkata Police Commissioner.The Supreme Court will hear today the ED’s petition accusing West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee of obstructing a search operation at the Kolkata office of the I-PAC. The ED has named the West Bengal government, Rajeev Kumar, Kolkata Police Commissioner Manoj Kumar Verma and South Kolkata Deputy Commissioner Priyabatra Roy as respondents in the case.
The petition stems from an incident last week when ED officials were conducting searches at the I-PAC office in Kolkata as part of a money laundering probe linked to the alleged coal scam. According to the central agency, Mamata Banerjee arrived at the premises during the search along with senior Trinamool leaders and confronted the officers on duty. The ED has contended that the Chief Minister’s presence at the search site created an intimidating atmosphere for officers and compromised the agency’s ability to independently carry out its statutory duties.
The West Bengal Police registered an FIR against ED officials, further escalating the standoff between the state government and the central agency. Citing these developments, the ED has approached the Supreme Court seeking directions for an independent inquiry by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), arguing that a neutral central agency is required in view of the alleged interference by the state government.
Before moving the Supreme Court, the ED had approached the Calcutta High Court seeking protection and appropriate directions in connection with the same incident. Earlier on Wednesday, the Calcutta High Court disposed of a petition filed by the Trinamool Congress after recording the ED’s statement that it had not seized any documents or materials from the I-PAC office or from Pratik Jain.
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