TMC protest in Kolkata: Mamata Banerjee leads march against ED action

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Friday led a protest march against searches by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) at the residence and offices of political consultancy firm I-PAC chief Pratik Jain (Source: Photo by Partha Paul)

I-PAC, founded by election strategist-turned-politician Prashant Kishor, is managing the election campaigns of the Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress (Source: Photo by Partha Paul)

The rally followed an Enforcement Directorate search at the Kolkata residence of I-PAC chief Pratik Jain as part of a money laundering probe related to an alleged coal pilferage scam (Source: Photo by Partha Paul)

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has claimed in a petition before the Calcutta High Court that its investigation into an alleged coal smuggling syndicate run by Anup Majee alias Lala and others has revealed that Rs 20 crore worth of ‘proceeds of crime’ (POC) was transferred to the election management company, I-PAC, through illicit hawala channels (Source: Photo by Partha Paul)

Mamata Banerjee visited Pratik Jain’s residence during the ongoing ED raid and later left the premises with certain documents and articles (Source: Photo by Partha Paul)

The chief minister alleged the agency was attempting to seize the Trinamool Congress’s internal documents, hard disks and confidential organisational data that were unrelated to any financial investigation (Source: Photo by Partha Paul)

The Bharatiya Janata Party criticised the Chief Minister’s visit and accused her of interfering with an ongoing investigation (Source: Photo by Partha Paul)

Senior BJP leader Ravi Shankar Prasad described Mamata Banerjee’s conduct as irresponsible and unbecoming of a sitting Chief Minister while addressing reporters in Delhi (Source: Photo by Partha Paul)

Earlier on Friday, several TMC MPs were detained during a protest outside the Union Home Ministry in Delhi, where they were demonstrating against what they allege is the Centre’s misuse of investigative agencies (Source: Photo by Partha Paul)

The ED has approached the Calcutta High Court, seeking a CBI probe against Banerjee, senior police officials and others after facing obstruction during its raids against I-PAC and its director (Source: Photo by Partha Paul)