In a move that signals a tightening of the screws on high-profile investigations in West Bengal, Enforcement Directorate (ED) Director Rahul Navin held a series of intense review meetings at the agency's CGO Complex office on Friday. Navin, who landed in the city on Thursday, sat down with zonal heads and senior officers to pore over status reports on several sensitive cases that have kept the state’s political circles on edge.
The agenda for the day wasn't just routine paperwork. Sources indicate that the director is reviewing the progress of probes into illegal coal and sand mining, municipal irregularities, and the long-running School Service Commission (SSC) recruitment scandal. The goal is clear, that is, assess where each investigation stands and chart the immediate next steps, particularly in cases that have stalled or faced resistance.
The timing of this visit is impossible to ignore. It comes just weeks after the explosive January 8 search at the office of I-PAC and the home of its director, Pratik Jain. That operation turned into a full-blown political spectacle when Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee arrived on the scene, accusing the ED of trying to steal the Trinamool Congress’s election strategy documents. The agency, in turn, has told the Supreme Court that its officers were obstructed and that vital evidence was essentially snatched away.
With the Supreme Court still weighing the ED’s request for a CBI probe into that specific confrontation, Navin’s presence in Kolkata suggests the agency is digging in its heels. While the TMC maintains that the ED is merely a tool being used to disrupt their assembly poll preparations, the agency seems focused on proving the money trail in the coal pilferage case.
Navin is expected to issue fresh directives before he leaves, which could very well lead to a new wave of summons or searches in the coming days. The atmosphere at the CGO Complex remains charged, as these investigations continue to sit at the very heart of the state’s political battle.
Also read: SIR hearings to halt if peace not ensured: EC warns WB Govt
Follow us
