The raid by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) at the I-PAC office and the residences of Pratik Jain in Kolkata on January 8 has created a massive political fallout in West Bengal. The reason behind the political fallout is not simply because the ED raided these premises, but because West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee herself reached the spot and allegedly obstructed the raid.

Beyond this, the entire situation turned toward a massive political issue from there because Mamata hit the streets, leading a protest march that drew thousands and reframed the narrative around central agency overreach. This episode, tied to a long-standing coal smuggling investigation, has exposed fissures in Bengal's political landscape, with the Trinamool Congress (TMC) leveraging it for mass mobilisation while the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) struggles to capitalise.

  The Coal Smuggling Probe: Timing, Targets, and Lingering Questions

  The coal smuggling case, which forms the backbone of the ED's raid on I-PAC, dates back to 2020 when the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) registered a case against a syndicate led by Anup Majhi, alias Lala, accused of illegally excavating and smuggling coal from Eastern Coalfields Limited (ECL) leasehold areas in West Bengal's Paschim Bardhaman district. The scam, estimated to involve billions in illicit proceeds, allegedly involved theft from government mines and laundering through hawala networks. 

  The ED joined under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), uncovering links to political figures early on.

  This probe gained prominence before the 2021 West Bengal assembly elections, with TMC national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee and his wife Rujira Banerjee summoned multiple times for questioning. Abhishek, Mamata's nephew, faced interrogations in 2021 and beyond, with allegations of ties to key accused like Vinay Mishra, a TMC youth leader implicated in fund routing. While the........

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