In a first of its kind, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday has lodged a formal police complaint following the raids at the office of Indian Political Action Committee (I-PAC) and his director Pratik Jain. The complaint, accessed by News The Truth, alleged that unknown persons claiming to be Enforcement Directorate (ED) ‘illegally’ entered the residence of an I-PAC director in Kolkata and accessed sensitive political data, including material linked to the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process. The First Information Report (FIR) was registered at Shakespeare Sarani Police Station in south Kolkata, making it a rare instance where a sitting Chief Minister has herself approached the police as a complainant.
According to the FIR, more than five unidentified individuals, claiming to be ED officials, allegedly entered the residential flat of Pratik Jain, a key strategic associate of the ruling All India Trinamool Congress (AITC), without ‘possessing any lawful authority’ and conducted the operation under the false pretext of a search and seizure. The complaint further claims that during the alleged illegal entry, the accused:
* Accessed and removed confidential and proprietary documents of TMC
* Copied and cloned electronic records and digital devices of TMC
* Misappropriated data related to AITC’s political strategy ahead of 2026 state assembly election and campaign planning Information linked to the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process
The FIR alleges that the accused acted “dishonestly and without consent” and may have taken the assistance of forensic and technical experts to extract and duplicate the data.
Based on the allegations, police have registered the case under:
* Sections 43 and 66 of the Information Technology Act, 2000
* Sections 3(5), 303(2), and 332(c) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023
These provisions relate to unauthorised access to computer resources, theft, criminal trespass, and offences involving misuse of electronic data.
Police confirmed that the case has been formally registered and an investigation initiated. Inspector Shibadiya Paul of Shakespeare Sarani Police Station has been assigned as the investigating officer. All accused persons are currently listed as unknown, and no arrests have been made so far. The FIR assumes added significance as it comes amid heightened political tensions in the state and just hours after central agencies carried out multiple searches in Bengal ahead of elections.
While the Enforcement Directorate has not officially responded to the allegations at the time of filing this report, the complaint directly challenges the legitimacy of actions carried out in its name and raises serious questions about impersonation, data security, and political surveillance.
“They have looted everything. These were our party internal documents and BJP used the agency to steal our property. They cant win elections by fighting us thus resorting to every unfair means. We are not scared of the central agencies and we will no surrender to BJP” Mamata Banerjee had said on Thursday as she stormed into the office of I-PAC and house of Pratik Jain while the raids were on. In an unprecedented scene Mamata Banerjee reached both the places and walked out with files and folder, darks and even electronic devices claiming they contained her party internal data. ED claims they were conducting raids pertaining to an alleged coal smuggling case registered in 2020, but no response to the questions from the opposition questioning the timing of the raids at the I-PAC office ahead of elections.
