The atmosphere has become very heated before the elections in West Bengal. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has clearly said that her party cannot be intimidated by midnight raids and arrests. His statement came at a time when I-PAC co-founder Vinesh Chandel was arrested by ED in Delhi. Mamata Banerjee said during a rally in Pingla, West Midnapore that if one worker is arrested, another will stand in his place. He said that Trinamool Congress will continue the fight and West Bengal cannot be controlled so easily. He accused the central government of threatening to put people in jail, but the party will not step back from this.

Mamta Banerjee also said that since the announcement of elections, ED and CBI are continuously taking action. Summons have been sent to many leaders and raids are being conducted at night. Mamata Banerjee alleges that a plan is being made to arrest booth agents just before the elections so that the opposition becomes weak on the day of voting.

I-PAC co-founder arrested

Party’s National General Secretary Abhishek Banerjee also reacted strongly to the arrest of I-PAC’s co-founder. He said that such action a few days before the elections raises questions on fair elections. He alleged that those working with the opposition are being targeted, which is not good for democracy. Abhishek Banerjee also said that if those who have serious allegations change their parties, they are saved, while action is taken against the rest.

TMC Rajya Sabha MP Derek O’Brien also termed the ED’s action as interference in the elections. He said that all this is an attempt to influence the elections, but despite this BJP will have to face defeat.

Mamta Banerjee appealed during rallies

Mamta Banerjee appealed to women during the rallies that if someone is stopped from voting, they should stand firm. He made it clear that he is not in favor of violence, but people should stand up for their rights. He also raised the question as to why such a large number of central forces were sent at the time of elections, when the state police could also have worked to maintain peace. He asked people to complain if any officer harasses them. He said that the job of the central forces is to maintain peace, but if they stop people from voting then it is against democracy.

Also read: ‘BJP has started preparations for Punjab elections’, AAP leaders raised questions on ED raid on Ashok Mittal’s premises.

Before the assembly elections in West Bengal, ED has taken major actions one after the other and tightened the noose on corruption, money laundering, illegal recovery, land grabbing, recruitment scams and international hawala network. In the last few days, many major actions like raids, property attachment, issuing summons and filing of charge sheets have come to light in different cases of the state. In these actions, names of political leaders, officials, businessmen and people associated with the alleged crime syndicate have come to light.

First of all let’s talk about the IPAC case. On April 2, 2026, ED simultaneously raided 11 locations in many cities of the country, Hyderabad, Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Vijayawada and Ranchi. These raids were conducted at the offices of IPAC, the homes of its directors and the offices of its associated companies. During the investigation, ED has found such documents and digital evidence which point towards money laundering and not only domestic but also international Hawala network. The investigating agency is now trying to find out whether illegal funding was being done in the name of election activities. During the raid in this case, the state CM Mamata Banerjee herself forcibly took away the documents. The Supreme Court had reprimanded her for this.

ED’s raid intensified in Partha Chatterjee case

Former Education Minister Partha Chatterjee is once again on the target of ED. On April 11, 2026, a raid was conducted at his residence and office of his associate Prasanna Kumar Roy in Kolkata. According to ED, he was summoned thrice in the SSC recruitment scam but he did not appear for questioning even once. It is noteworthy that in 2022, ED had arrested him in the primary teacher recruitment scam and in 2025, he got conditional bail from the Supreme Court. Now ED is investigating several cases against him related to Primary Teacher, SSC Assistant Teacher and Group CD recruitment.

‘Sona Pappu’ case cash, gold and weapons recovered

ED conducted raids at 8 places on April 1 against Bishwajit Poddar alias Sona Pappu, associated with the notorious syndicate in Kolkata. During this period, about Rs 1.47 crore in cash, gold and silver jewelery worth Rs 67 lakh, a Fortuner car and many important documents were recovered. The most shocking thing was that a revolver with Made in USA written on it was also found from his house, which was later handed over to the West Bengal Police. Investigation revealed that this entire network was making huge amounts of black money through extortion, land grabbing and illegal construction. At present Sona Pappu is absconding and is not joining the investigation despite ED summons. In this case, summons has also been issued to businessman Jai Kamdar, who is said to be linked to police officer Santanu Sinha Biswas. According to ED, big TMC leaders will also be interrogated in this case.

Amit Ganguly case: Big racket to grab land with fake documents

On March 28, 2026, ED raided 7 locations in Kolkata, which included the locations of Amit Ganguly and his associates, accused of land grab and fraud. Investigation revealed that the accused used to take possession of expensive lands by making fake agreements, power of attorney and fake documents. After this, real estate projects were built on the same lands and sold to the common people. Money laundering was also done using bank accounts in this entire game. ED has frozen many bank accounts and more than 20 FIRs are already registered.

PDS ration scam: Food grains of the poor were sold in the market

On April 10, 2026, ED raided 17 locations, which included Niranjan Chandra Saha and people associated with his network. It is alleged that instead of reaching the poor, the wheat of government ration i.e. PDS was being sold illegally in the market and exported. Investigation revealed that the accused used to erase the identity of wheat by changing FCI sacks and sold it as personal goods. During this period, about Rs 31.9 lakh in cash and many digital evidence were seized.

Merlin Group Case: Big scam in real estate, investigation into political connections

On April 8, 2026, ED raided 7 locations linked to Merlin Projects Limited. Company promoters Sushil Mohta and Saket Mohta are accused of setting up big projects by grabbing land through fake documents. ED has also found indications in the investigation that this group may have links with big leaders and government officials of the state. At present the investigation of these financial transactions is going on.

NRI quota medical admission scam: ED tightens grip on police officer

ED has issued summons to Kolkata Police officer Shantanu Sinha Biswas. The matter is related to fake admission under NRI quota in medical colleges. According to ED, suspicious transactions worth about Rs 85 crore have come to light. Investigation found that students were admitted under NRI quota through fake documents. Santanu Sinha Biswas has challenged the ED summons in the court, but till now there has been no stop on the ED action.

Coal scam: Extortion of Rs 650 crore, ED filed charge sheet

On April 9, 2026, ED took major action in the case of illegal coal mining and recovery and filed a charge sheet in the special court. Many accused including Chinmoy Mondal and Kiran Khan are involved in this case. Investigation revealed that the coal mafia used to collect goonda tax from transporters and buyers, which was 20-25% of the price of coal. In the last five years, black money worth Rs 650 crore was collected through extortion alone.

South Point School Fund Scam: Assets worth Rs 18.5 crore attached

ED has attached assets worth Rs 18.5 crore belonging to Krishna Damani and his family. It is alleged that the funds of South Point Education Society were recovered through fake bills, fake employees and wrong payments. This money was later laundered by investing in mutual funds, shares and companies.

Custom officer scam: Smuggling of Rs 194 crore exposed

ED has attached assets worth Rs 48 lakh of suspended customs officer Navneet Kumar. Investigation revealed that goods worth Rs 194 crore were wrongly cleared in 2017. It is alleged that the accused deliberately ordered a limited investigation to protect himself from the investigation and misused the manual clearance. This continuous action of ED in West Bengal clearly indicates that a big campaign is going on against corruption, money laundering and organized crime before the elections. Be it coal scam, recruitment scam, land grabbing or hawala network, the investigating agency seems to be active at every level. The possibility of more big revelations and arrests in the coming days cannot be ruled out.

Also read: Mallikarjun Kharge To PM: PM Modi wrote a letter to all the parties on the Women’s Reservation Bill, Kharge said – without taking us into confidence…