West Bengal: I-T raids on TMC MLA, Mamata proposer cause outcry

Kolkata was once again thrust into the centre of political controversy on Friday after a series of Income Tax raids targeted Trinamool Congress (TMC) candidate and sitting MLA Debasish Kumar, along with Miraj Shah, one of the proposers of chief minister Mamata Banerjee’s Bhabanipur nomination.

West Bengal's ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) alleged that Central agencies were being used to target opposition leaders in the midst of an ongoing election campaign and to disturb the political atmosphere ahead of polling.

Search operations began early in the morning at Kumar’s residence on Manoharpukur Road, where officials arrived while he was present at home. Raids were subsequently carried out at two of his offices in south Kolkata, including his councillor’s office and a premises being used as an election campaign centre linked to the Rashbehari seat as well as Ballygunge constituency work.

According to party workers present at the site, officials examined campaign-related documents, phone numbers of booth-level workers, and material connected to election coordination. They also alleged that officers attempted to inspect laptops kept at the office. However, local TMC leader Ashok Kumar Das later said that no documents were seized and that officials only checked campaign material available at the premises.

The searches expanded through the day to include Kumar’s in-laws’ residence. The I-T department also conducted operations at the home of TMC trade union leader Kumar Saha in Kalighat, described by party sources as a close associate of Debasish Kumar who has long been active in south Kolkata’s political network.

Central security forces were deployed outside the premises as workers and supporters gathered in protest, questioning the timing of the raids in the middle of an election period. Sit-in demonstrations were reported outside some of the locations where searches were underway.

Particular political attention centred on the raid at the Elgin Road residence of chartered accountant Miraj Shah, one of the proposers of Mamata Banerjee’s Bhabanipur nomination papers and a member of the Board of Trustees of Bhabanipur Education Society College.

According to TMC leaders, Shah had been selected by the CM as a proposer partly as a symbolic representation of social and religious inclusivity. Party leaders described the search at his residence as a targeted move against an individual closely associated with Banerjee and characterised it as an attempt to send a political signal during the campaign.

The BJP has not issued any detailed response addressing the specific allegations made by the TMC. However, the timing of the searches has quickly become a major political flashpoint in the campaign. The TMC argued that Central agencies were acting selectively against opposition leaders while leaders of the ruling party at the Centre were not subjected to similar scrutiny.

Addressing a public rally, Mamata Banerjee alleged that the BJP had weaponised institutions including the I-T department, the Enforcement Directorate and even the Election Commission in order to exert pressure on opposition candidates.

TMC spokesperson and Beleghata candidate Kunal Ghosh reacted sharply to the raid on Shah’s residence, calling the development a “grave threat to democracy”. He alleged that the BJP was resorting to desperate tactics out of fear of electoral defeat and argued that targeting the proposer of the chief minister’s nomination represented an attempt to interfere with the democratic process. His remarks were widely circulated within party circles as the TMC sought to frame the searches as politically motivated rather than routine investigative action.

The official basis for the searches has not yet been fully detailed in public statements by the authorities. Some accounts have linked the operations to an ongoing investigation into alleged financial irregularities and suspected illegal land transactions involving a south Kolkata construction and business network.

Debasish Kumar had previously been summoned by the Enforcement Directorate in connection with that probe and was asked to produce banking documents, suggesting that Friday’s action may be connected to the broader investigation.

As the searches continued through the day, tension remained high in several parts of south Kolkata. Supporters gathered outside the premises where officials were conducting searches, while Central forces maintained a presence in the area. TMC leaders alleged that campaign-related material was being scrutinised in the middle of the election process and argued that the raids were intended to disrupt organisational work at the booth level. The I-T department has not publicly disclosed details of any material seized so far.

For the TMC, the episode adds to what the party describes as a continuing pattern of Central agency action against opposition leaders during politically sensitive moments, with polling scheduled for 23 and 29 April.