New Delhi, 15 January (H.S.): The Enforcement Directorate (ED) filed a fresh application in the Supreme Court on Thursday seeking the removal of West Bengal Director General of Police Rajeev Kumar in connection with its raids on I-PAC, the Trinamool Congress poll strategist firm, while also demanding the suspension of top state police officials for allegedly obstructing investigations.

The ED accused these officers of colluding with Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee to tamper with evidence and derail probes into the alleged coal scam money laundering case. The application highlighted that DGP Rajeev Kumar, during his prior tenure as Kolkata Police Commissioner, had staged a dharna alongside Banerjee, underscoring their aligned interests.

The ED's January 8 raids targeted I-PAC offices and director Prateek Jain's residence as part of its money laundering investigation into illegal coal trade allocations. The agency alleged that Banerjee arrived at the I-PAC premises during the searches with the explicit intent to obstruct proceedings, removing documents and digital evidence in the presence of ED teams, claims that the Chief Minister has categorically denied.

The ED contended that such high-level political interference necessitated judicial intervention to insulate the probe from state machinery's overreach, arguing that police officials under Kumar's command facilitated this evasion.

Anticipating ED's Supreme Court move, the West Bengal government had lodged a caveat, insisting that no ex parte orders be passed without hearing its side. This legal skirmish escalates amid ED's broader crackdown on alleged TMC poll funding irregularities via I-PAC, paralleling Jana Nayagan's certification imbroglio, Modi's Pongal cultural ode, Himachal's inferno tragedy, and Bangladesh cricket's mutiny—all crystallising Thursday's tableau of institutional tensions and human dramas.

The Supreme Court is yet to schedule a hearing on the ED's urgent plea for police leadership overhaul.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar