Kolkata, January 12:
Kolkata Police have begun the process of making neighbours of Indian Political Action Committee (I-PAC) director Pratik Jain witnesses in an ongoing investigation related to the Enforcement Directorate’s (ED) raid at his residence on Loudon Street in central Kolkata on January 8. The move is part of a probe initiated following complaints filed against the ED over alleged misconduct during the search operation.
Sources said on Monday that several residents of the apartment complex and neighbouring buildings have already been summoned by city police to record their statements. The witnesses are being asked to share what they observed and heard during the raid, including the movements of ED officials, who were accompanied by Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel.
On January 8, the ED conducted a surprise raid at Pratik Jain’s Loudon Street residence and the I-PAC office in Salt Lake in connection with an alleged coal smuggling case. Following news of the raid, West Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee reached the residence and later alleged that election-related party documents, candidate lists, strategic materials, and electronic data were “looted” by ED officials in the guise of a search.
Subsequently, the Chief Minister lodged complaints at Shakespeare Sarani Police Station and Bidhannagar Electronic Complex Police Station, alleging theft of Trinamool Congress election-related documents. Based on these complaints, Kolkata Police initiated an investigation and also registered a suo motu case.
As part of the probe, police have seized CCTV footage and Digital Video Recorders (DVRs) from the residence and recorded statements of domestic staff and security personnel. The security register of the building has also been taken into custody to verify the entries made by ED officials on the day of the raid.
Police are scrutinising the sequence of events using multiple video sources, including CCTV footage and body-camera recordings of police personnel who arrived at the scene between 11:15 am and 11:20 am. According to sources, ED officials entered the residence at around 6:20 am and left at 2:50 pm. Investigators are also examining CCTV footage reportedly obtained by the ED, which allegedly shows obstruction during the raid. The investigation remains ongoing.
