I-PAC director Vinesh Chandel sent to 10 days in ED custody

A special court in Delhi has remanded Vinesh Chandel, co-founder and director of Indian PAC Consulting Pvt Ltd, to 10 days in Enforcement Directorate (ED) custody following his arrest in a money laundering case linked to an alleged coal scam in West Bengal.

The ED arrested Chandel late on Monday evening, weeks ahead of the state assembly elections, after prolonged questioning. He was produced before a special court under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, which granted the agency custody for further interrogation.

The case pertains to alleged irregularities in coal transportation and pilferage from mines operated by Eastern Coalfields Limited in the Kunustoria and Kajora areas near Asansol. The money laundering probe stems from a 2020 FIR registered by the Central Bureau of Investigation, which had flagged a multi-crore coal pilferage racket in the region.

According to ED officials, financial transactions linked to the alleged scam were routed through hawala channels, with “tens of crores of rupees” purportedly transferred to Indian PAC Consulting Pvt Ltd, the parent entity of I-PAC. The agency has been probing the firm’s financial dealings as part of the wider investigation.

Earlier this month, on 2 April, the ED conducted searches at multiple locations connected to the case, including Chandel’s premises in Delhi, the Bengaluru residence of co-founder Rishi Raj Singh, and the Mumbai residence of former AAP communications in-charge Vijay Nair. Additional raids were carried out on 8 January at the I-PAC office and the Kolkata residence of its founder Pratik Jain.

The January searches triggered a political controversy after chief minister Mamata Banerjee visited the premises along with state officials and removed certain documents. The ED later alleged that its operation had been “obstructed” and that key materials were taken away, prompting it to seek a CBI probe into what it termed a “gross abuse of power.” The matter is currently before the Supreme Court.

The Trinamool Congress (TMC), however, rejected the allegations, accusing the ED of attempting to access election strategy-related documents of I-PAC ahead of the polls.

Reacting to Chandel’s arrest, Abhishek Banerjee said the timing raises concerns about the fairness of the electoral process. “The arrest of Vinesh Chandel barely days before the elections is alarming and undermines the idea of a level playing field,” he said in a post on X.

I-PAC has been working as a political consultant for the TMC and the West Bengal government since 2021. There was no immediate response from the organisation on the arrest.

West Bengal is set to vote in a two-phase Assembly election on 23 April and 29 April, with the counting of votes scheduled for 4 May.

With PTI inputs