Raipur (Chhattisgarh) [India], January 9 : Chhattisgarh Deputy Chief Minister Vijay Sharma on Friday condemned West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee for allegedly disrupting the Enforcement Directorate's search operations at the offices of the political consultancy firm I-PAC. He demanded the immediate filing of an FIR against the West Bengal CM and an arrest for allegedly disrupting an official investigation.
Speaking to the media, he said, "She wants to have control over the Constitution. She wants to be above all the constitutional institutions. This is definitely not acceptable. The Constitution is above all. The beliefs of the nation are above all. Even if there are not one but 100 Mamata Banerjees, nothing will end (the functioning of institutions). There should be an FIR against her, and she should be arrested."
Deputy Chief Minister Vijay Sharma further said that there is a "procedure" to stop an ongoing investigation and a specific way to "raise objections". He questioned the West Bengal Chief Minister's method of alleged disruption of the investigation.
He said, "There is a procedure to stop the investigation. There is a way to raise objections. But, during an ongoing official investigation, would you create such a level of disruption?"
Meanwhile, on Friday, several Trinamool Congress (TMC) MPs were detained in the national capital for protesting outside Union Home Minister Amit Shah's office against the Enforcement Directorate (ED) raid on the I-PAC office in Kolkata, alleging misuse of the probe agency by the centre.
TMC MPs Derek O'Brien, Satabdi Roy, Mahua Moitra, Kirti Azad, and others protested outside Amit Shah's office in Delhi, raising slogans against the minister.
As this happened, the Delhi police detained Derek O'Brien, Mahua Moitra, and others, lifting them up and dragging them to the police van.
On Thursday, high political drama unfolded in West Bengal after Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee visited the offices of the political consultancy firm I-PAC, even as the Enforcement Directorate conducted searches in connection with the coal smuggling case.
Questioning the ED's actions, Banerjee alleged that the central agency had seized party-related materials, including hard disks, candidate lists and strategic documents, and accused Union Home Minister Amit Shah of misusing central agencies.
"Is it the duty of the ED, Amit Shah, to collect the party's hard disk, candidate list? The nasty, naughty Home Minister who cannot protect the country is taking away all my party documents," Banerjee said while speaking to reporters.
Issuing a direct challenge to the BJP and Amit Shah, the Chief Minister dared him to come to West Bengal and fight her democratically. "If Amit Shah wants Bengal, then come, fight democratically, and win. Everyone must know what kind of operation has been carried out. At 6:00 a.m., they arrived and seized the party's data, laptops, strategies, and mobile phones. Their forensic experts transferred all the data. I believe this is a crime," she said.
Banerjee asserted that I-PAC was not a private organisation but an authorised team working for the All India Trinamool Congress (AITC). She alleged that the ED had confiscated sensitive documents, including data linked to the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.
"This is not a private organisation. This is the authorised team of the All India Trinamool Congress (AITC).
They looted all papers and data, including a large amount of information related to SIR. We are a registered political party. We submit our income tax regularly. If the ED requires any information, they can obtain it from the Income Tax Department. Why was there a raid on our party's IT department?" Banerjee asked.
Countering the Chief Minister's allegations, the ED accused Mamata Banerjee of entering the residential premises of Prateek Jain, director of I-PAC, during the ongoing search operation and taking away "key evidence", including physical documents and electronic devices.
In a statement, the agency said the search was conducted "in a peaceful and professional manner" until the Chief Minister and a large number of police officials arrived.
"Banerjee entered the residential premises of Prateek Jain and took away key evidence, including physical documents and electronic devices," the ED said, adding that her convoy then proceeded to I-PAC's office, from where "Ms Banerjee, her aides and the state police personnel forcibly removed physical documents and electronic evidence."
The agency said these actions obstructed an ongoing investigation under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
Clarifying its position, the ED said, "The search is evidence-based and is not targeted at any political establishment. No party office has been searched. The search is not linked to any elections and is part of a regular crackdown on money laundering. The search is conducted strictly in accordance with established legal safeguards." It added that persons linked to the generation of coal smuggling proceeds, hawala operators and handlers were covered in the PMLA searches conducted on January 8, 2026.
"I-PAC is also one of the entities linked to hawala money. During today's action, six premises in West Bengal and four premises in Delhi are covered," the agency said.