Overview
- Enforcement Directorate teams carried out coordinated searches Thursday at locations linked to I-PAC in Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Delhi and Mumbai, including premises tied to director Rishi Raj Singh and former AAP aide Vijay Nair.
- The case stems from a 2020 CBI complaint on large-scale pilferage from Eastern Coalfields mines, and the ED says roughly Rs 10–20 crore reached I-PAC through hawala channels moved by a Mumbai-based angadiya cash courier.
- January searches at I-PAC’s Kolkata office triggered a confrontation when the ED alleged Mamata Banerjee removed documents, a claim she denied, and the Supreme Court later stayed FIRs against ED officials and is reviewing the agency’s request for a CBI probe into alleged obstruction.
- I-PAC co-founders Rishi Raj Singh and Pratik Jain have challenged recent ED summons in the Delhi High Court, and the agency told the court it could defer questioning until state elections end.
- I-PAC advises the Trinamool Congress on campaign strategy, and Thursday’s action drew dueling political responses as TMC leaders called the raids an attempt to derail their drive while the BJP said the searches follow evidence in ongoing coal and cattle cases.