In a major development ahead of the West Bengal Assembly elections, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) has arrested Vinesh Chandel, a director and co-founder of I-PAC, in connection with the multi-crore coal smuggling scam. According to ED sources, investigation reveals that approximately ₹20 crore from coal smuggling was funneled into I-PAC channels via hawala transactions. The probe stems from an FIR filed by the CBI in November 2020.

Reacting to the arrest, TMC leader Kalyan Banerjee refrained from commenting directly on I-PAC but accused the center of using central agencies to harass TMC leaders. “The ED and CBI are being deployed specifically to target leaders like Sujit Bose and malign the party’s image before the polls,” he claimed, calling it an interference in the democratic process.

Abhishek Banerjee and other top TMC leaders have termed the arrest an “attack on democracy” and an attempt to destroy the level playing field. Meanwhile, the BJP has hailed the arrest as a strict stand against corruption, asserting that the law must take its course regardless of political associations. Vinesh Chandel’s arrest in Delhi has added a new layer of intensity to the already heated political climate in Bengal.