ED Vs Kolkata police after raid

A political slugfest has started between the Trinamool Congress and BJP after raids at Kolkata’s Leaps and Bounds Pvt Ltd last week, and this is now followed by a police versus police tussle. History seems to be repeating itself with the Kolkata Police starting a preliminary inquiry against officers of the Enforcement Directorate.

The central agency has been accused of downloading 16 “foreign files” in a computer during a search at the company’s office premises. The concerned ED officer was asked to appear before the Kolkata Police to which the agency expressed its inability citing directions from the Calcutta High Court. It stated that the complainant (the company) in the matter is “suspected of money laundering” and it has directors, who are parents of TMC MP Abhishek Banerjee and brother of West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee.

There was a series of communications between the two investigative parties after a company executive filed a complaint with Kolkata Police on August 25. While there is no FIR in the matter, the ED officer was asked to appear before Kolkata Police on August 30.

Kolkata Police, however, has started a preliminary probe into the matter, which was also referred to the Calcutta HC, a senior ED officer said. In a letter dated August 30, the ED wrote to the cyber police station of Kolkata Police stating that the high court, while hearing the matter on August 29, directed the ED “to expedite the investigations”.

Following HC directions, the ED said its officers are “preoccupied in investigations” and, hence, it is not in a position to spare them to appear at the cyber police station.

According to the senior ED officer, they have requested Kolkata Police to share details of any forensic examination of the computers or seizure after the ED’s search. The central agency has further said the company is also “suspected of the offence of money laundering in the biggest recruitment scam in the history of the state of West Bengal”.

With inputs from News18