Weeks ahead of the West Bengal Assembly polls, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Monday arrested Vinesh Chandel, a director and co-founder of political consultancy firm I-PAC, in connection with a money laundering case linked to alleged coal smuggling in the poll-bound state.
I-PAC, founded by election strategist-turned-politician Prashant Kishor, is managing the Trinamool Congress’s poll campaign. West Bengal will have a two-phase poll on April 23 and April 29.
Chandel has been associated with I-PAC since its inception. He is a graduate from NLIU, Bhopal. He briefly worked as a journalist, too, and also practised law in the Supreme Court. He is considered close to Mamata and has extensively worked with the TMC in Bengal and Meghalaya.
An official said Chandel was taken into custody under the provisions of the PMLA in Delhi late evening. “He is expected to be produced before a special court on Monday night, where the ED will seek his custody for further questioning,” the official added.
Earlier on April 2, Chandel’s premises in Delhi, apart from that of another I-PAC co-founder and director Rishi Raj Singh in Bengaluru and that of former Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) communications in-charge Vijay Nair in Mumbai, were searched by the ED as part of their investigation.
In January, a high-voltage drama erupted as the ED raided 10 locations linked to I-PAC only for Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee to step in while searches were underway at the Kolkata residence of its director Pratik Jain, prompting the central agency to knock on the High Court’s door. The raids, which covered six locations in West Bengal’s Kolkata and Bidhannagar and four in the national capital, were in connection with an alleged coal smuggling and money laundering case, the ED said
According to the ED, searches were carried out based on a CBI FIR registered in 2020 against alleged coal smuggling kingpin Anup Majee alias Lala and others, following which the agency had recorded an Enforcement Case Information Report (ECIR) under the PMLA.
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“Investigations have revealed that a coal smuggling syndicate led by Majee allegedly stole and illegally excavated coal from leasehold areas of Eastern Coalfields Ltd (ECL) in West Bengal, which was then sold to factories across districts such as Bankura, Bardhaman and Purulia. Both the CBI and ED have earlier questioned Rujira Banerjee, wife of TMC national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee, in the case, alleging links with Majee,” the official said.
The ED had said its searches against I-PAC and Jain in Kolkata were obstructed by CM Banerjee, claiming relevant documents and gadgets were forcibly taken away by her and the state administration.
Meanwhile, TMC general secretary and Lok Sabha MP Abhishek Banerjee in a post on X said: “The arrest of Vinesh Chandel, co-founder of I-PAC, barely 10 days before the Bengal elections, is not just alarming- It shakes the very idea of a level playing field… At a time when WB should be moving toward free and fair elections, this kind of action sends a chilling message: If you work with the opposition, you could be next. That’s not democracy — that’s intimidation!”
“What makes it even harder to ignore is the double standard. Those facing serious corruption allegations seem to find protection the moment they switch sides, while others are swiftly targeted at politically convenient moments. People are not blind to this anymore. When institutions meant to protect democracy start feeling like tools of pressure, trust begins to erode. On one side, the Election Commission. On the other, agencies like the ED, NIA, CBI stepping in at the most sensitive time. It creates an atmosphere of fear, not fairness’” Abhishek posted.
