Showdown in Bengal: ED director in Kolkata days after Mamata Banerjee intervenes in I-PAC raid

Naveen is scheduled to meet senior ED officials at the agency’s Salt Lake office and review the progress of ongoing investigations in the state, sources said as per reports.

Meanwhile, the ED on Wednesday attached immovable properties worth nearly Rs. 58 crore belonging to Trinamool Congress (TMC) MLA Jiban Krishna Saha in connection with the alleged teacher recruitment scam.

In a major setback for the Mamata Banerjee-led government, the Supreme Court last week stayed all First Information Reports (FIRs) registered by the West Bengal Police against ED officers in connection with the I-PAC raid controversy.

A bench comprising Justices Prashant Mishra and Vipul Pancholi observed that the petition raised a “serious issue” concerning a central probe agency’s investigation and alleged interference by state authorities.

The apex court was hearing the ED’s plea challenging Banerjee’s alleged resistance to the agency’s raids at the I-PAC office and the residence of the firm’s co-director Pratik Jain on January 8.

While noting that probe agencies have no authority to interfere in political party activities, the court questioned whether such agencies can be barred from exercising their statutory powers while investigating “serious offences.”

On Thursday, the Supreme Court also said it was “very much disturbed” by the chaos that had erupted earlier in the Calcutta High Court during the hearing on the ED’s petition related to the I-PAC raid row.

Describing the incident as a “serious issue,” the apex court took note of the disruption, which prompted the ED to approach the Supreme Court with a similar petition.