ED Targets I-PAC Executives in Multi-Metropolis Raids Over Alleged West Bengal Coal Smuggling Hyperlinks
2 min learnNew DelhiUp to date: Apr 2, 2026 04:03 PM IST
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Thursday carried out contemporary searches at a number of areas linked to executives of the political consultancy agency Indian Political Motion Committee (I-PAC) and others.
The searches have been carried out throughout Bengaluru, Hyderabadand Delhi in reference to an alleged coal smuggling and pilferage case in West Bengal, sources mentioned. “The raids are a continuation of the searches carried out earlier within the case,” an ED officer mentioned.
Premises linked to I-PAC co-founder and director Rishi Raj Singh have been amongst these coated.
The federal company had earlier carried out searches in January on the I-PAC workplace in addition to on the Kolkata residence of its founder, Pratik Gandhi. I-PAC, which has earlier managed the electoral campaigns for a number of events throughout the nation, is presently working with the Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress (TMC).
Officers mentioned Singh, together with one other functionary, had lately been summoned by the ED for questioning. Each have approached the Delhi Excessive Court docket in search of to quash the notices, citing their involvement in ongoing election work in West Bengal and Tamil Nadu.
The ED case stems from a wider investigation into an alleged coal smuggling racket in West Bengal, which, in accordance with central businesses, concerned large-scale unlawful extraction and diversion of coal from mines operated by Japanese Coalfields Restricted, a subsidiary of Coal India Restricted.
As reported by The Indian Expressthe company has been probing the alleged laundering of proceeds generated by means of this racket, with earlier searches concentrating on businessmen, transporters and politically related people suspected to be a part of the community. The investigation has additionally examined monetary trails linked to consultancy companies and political marketing campaign operations, bringing I-PAC executives beneath the scanner.
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The case has seen a number of rounds of searches and summons over the previous few years, with the ED specializing in tracing proceeds of crime and figuring out beneficiaries of the alleged unlawful commerce. The contemporary spherical of searches, officers mentioned, is geared toward gathering additional proof and corroborating monetary hyperlinks uncovered throughout earlier motion.
