Kolkata: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has launched a major operation in West Bengal. The central investigative agency is conducting simultaneous search operations across four districts of the state in connection with a bank fraud case involving a private company. On Friday morning, ED officials, accompanied by central security forces, arrived in Kolkata, Howrah, Hooghly, and Asansol. The raids are linked to a bank fraud case amounting to ₹290 crore. It is alleged that funds from a power plant in Jharkhand were illegally diverted to Kolkata. Investigators claim that ‘black money’ worth crores was laundered through the creation of shell (bogus) companies, and this extensive search operation has been initiated in that context.
According to ED sources, investigators raided the residence of chartered accountant Tarun Kumar Jain in the Vivek Vihar area of Howrah early Friday morning and began examining various documents. Simultaneously, the central agency is conducting searches at the residence of chartered accountant Sudipta Ghosh on Shibtala Street in Uttarpara (Hooghly district), as well as at the homes of two other chartered accountants in Kolkata’s Lake Town area and in Asansol.
Regarding the raids, chartered accountant Sudipta Ghosh stated that the officials arrived at his residence with court authorization. He noted that the ED is conducting an investigation, adding that it has no connection to corruption. However, he did not clarify the specific complaint that prompted the investigation.
Currently, investigators are looking into who was involved in this major financial transaction of ₹290 crore and how funds were siphoned off through shell companies. The ED has not yet officially disclosed whether any significant documents or evidence have been recovered during these search operations.
