Kolkata, 08 September (H.S.) : The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Tuesday concluded its nearly 24-hour search operation at the residence and offices of Trinamool Congress Rajya Sabha MP Nadimul Haque in connection with an alleged financial transaction case.

The searches began on Monday morning and continued through the night, with ED officials questioning Haque and examining documents at his premises before leaving on Tuesday.

According to agency sources, discrepancies have allegedly been detected in financial transactions involving around Rs 60 crore. The ED is examining several aspects of the transactions, including the possibility that a hawala network was used to route the funds.

Haque operates an Urdu newspaper office in the Park Circus area of Kolkata. The agency is probing allegations that the office was used as a front for financial transactions. It was also alleged that funds from a Trinamool Congress account associated with the Kalighat unit were transferred through Haque’s office in violation of prescribed norms. A complaint in this connection was lodged at Bidhannagar police station last month.

As part of its investigation, the ED launched searches at seven locations, including Haque’s residence and office in Kolkata and premises linked to him in Delhi and Ranchi. Haque was in Ranchi when the searches began. ED officials brought him to Kolkata on Monday night and subsequently questioned him during the search operations at his residence and office.

Agency sources said officials examined bank transaction records as well as several digital documents during the searches. The ED is understood to have found that adequate documentary evidence was not available to explain transactions involving around Rs 60 crore. Haque was questioned about the transactions, and sources claimed that he could not provide satisfactory answers to some of the questions put to him.

The agency is now focusing on the suspected Rs 60-crore transactions and is trying to establish the movement of the funds, including the accounts to which the money was transferred and whether any hawala network was involved. The role of other individuals and entities associated with the financial transactions is also being examined.

The Trinamool Congress, however, described the ED action as an act of political vendetta. The party claimed that despite the nearly 24-hour search, the agency did not find anything substantial. According to the party, the ED seized an old mobile phone and a tablet containing information related to the party’s election activities.

The Trinamool Congress alleged that the entire operation was politically motivated.

Hindusthan Samachar / Satya Prakash Singh