Kolkata Police: Details of ED personnel engaged in I-PAC searches would be sought
Kolkata Police: In order to get the identities and information of the officers who carried out searches at the I-PAC office in Salt Lake and the home of its director, Pratik Jain, on Loudon Street last week, Kolkata Police has made the decision to officially approach the Enforcement Directorate (ED).
CCTV video gathered from both places would be used concurrently by city police detectives to identify ED and CRPF personnel.
According to sources, investigators have already discovered that the raid at Jain’s home last Thursday was overseen by an ED Assistant Director. The ED will get a formal email requesting confirmation and information.
Six members of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) who served as security during the operation are also being sought by police. Investigators have discovered that during the search at Jain’s home, six CRPF members were sent in to protect the ED team. The CRPF’s Eastern Regional Office will get a letter from the Kolkata Police requesting their information.
During their Saturday visit to Pratik Jain’s home, police confiscated all digital video recorders (DVRs) and CCTV footage as part of the investigation. The building’s security registration has been taken, and statements from Jain’s domestic workers and security guards have been documented.
On the day of the raid, investigators are looking into whether the ED officers put their names in the security register and, if so, what information they submitted. According to reports, police may also record Pratik Jain, his wife, and his mother’s comments if necessary. The facilities manager of the building has already been called in.
Preliminary results indicate that on Thursday, ED officials entered Jain’s home at roughly 6.20 a.m. and finished the operation at around 2.50 p.m. Later, between 11.15 and 11.20 a.m., Kolkata Police officers arrived at the scene. Investigators are utilizing film from various sources, such as police body cameras and CCTV cameras, to recreate the events leading up to and after the arrival of the police. According to reports, a number of the policemen on the scene had body cameras on, and the recorded video is being extensively scrutinized.
In relation to a suspected coal smuggling investigation, ED officers searched Pratik Jain’s home on Loudon Street and the I-PAC office in Salt Lake last Thursday. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee visited the home after learning of the search. The leader of the Trinamool Congress said that under the pretense of the searches, ED officers confiscated electronic data, candidate lists, electoral strategy papers, and party materials pertaining to the election.
The Chief Minister then filed complaints at the Shakespeare Sarani Police Station and the Bidhannagar Electronic Complex Police Station, claiming that materials pertaining to the Trinamool Congress election had been stolen. Kolkata Police have opened a probe into the purported removal of party documents and electronic data during the ED operation in response to these reports.