It all began just before noon when West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee dropped in at the Loudon Street house of I-PAC director Pratik Jain in Kolkata as officials of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) began their search.
Before her, Kolkata Police Commissioner Manoj Verma reached Jain’s residence around 11.45 am. And by noon, Banerjee was there as she rushed into the house. Minutes later, she emerged holding a green plastic folder and a laptop, claiming that they contained important information about her party.
She left Jain’s residence at 12.40 pm.
From there, she headed to Sector V in Salt Lake, where ED officials were carrying out raids at I-PAC’s office. She entered the premises of the Godrej Waterside building at 12:40 pm, bypassing the central force personnel by entering from the basement and taking a general elevator to the 11th-floor office of the I-PAC.
While ED officials were inside the office carrying out searches, a massive crowd of TMC supporters and prominent leaders began to swell outside the building.
TMC leaders, including Bidhannagar Municipal Corporation councillor Debraj Chakraborty, MLA Sujit Bose, and Sabyasachi Dutta, arrived to surround the elevator.
In a highly unusual scene, TMC supporters effectively guarded five of the elevators, restricting access to anyone other than police or party members.
Other IT employees working in the building were diverted to different elevator banks, and several elevators to the 11th floor were reportedly shut down or required special permission to operate. Inside the restricted area, supporters were seen coordinating a continuous supply of water and tea for those standing guard.
Addressing the mediapersons, from the building’s basement, a visibly charged TMC supremo launched a scathing attack on the BJP and the central agency. She alleged that her party’s political strategies and “Strategic Information Report” (SIR) data had been “hijacked”. “They have transferred all our papers and data using a forensic team. All the tables are empty. This is a crime,” the CM said, accusing the ED of acting as a political tool to dismantle the TMC’s election preparedness.
She further alleged that Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah were attempting to “control” her through these raids, which she termed “undemocratic and unjust”.
By 4.46 pm, she left the I-PAC office for Babughat in Kolkata to inaugurate a transit camp for Gangasagar Mela.
Before leaving the I-PAC office, she said, “I will be back. Bengal will not tolerate this assault.”