A Delhi court on Thursday remanded I-PAC Director and Co-founder Vinesh Chandel to 14 days of judicial custody until May 7 in connection with a money laundering investigation linked to the alleged coal pilferage case. Chandel has also moved the Patiala House Court seeking regular bail. Additional Sessions Judge Dhirendra Rana issued notice on the bail plea and directed the Enforcement Directorate (ED) to file its response. The matter has been listed for arguments on April 29. ED Custody ends, the accused produced before the court The development came after the Enforcement Directorate’s 10-day custody of Chandel, granted earlier by the court, ended on April 23. Following the expiry of the remand period, he was produced before the court. In its earlier order granting ED custody, the court observed that the agency had complied with the statutory requirements under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) at the time of arrest. The court noted that copies of the arrest order, grounds of arrest, and related documents were duly provided to Chandel with acknowledgement and were also forwarded to the Adjudicating Authority. Court notes compliance with PMLA safeguards The court recorded compliance with Sections 19(1), 19(2), and 19(3) of the PMLA, observing that the required procedural safeguards had been followed. Referring to the material placed on record, the court also took note of the ED’s allegations that Chandel was involved in routing funds through informal channels, including hawala, and that certain transactions were carried out outside the formal banking system. The agency further claimed that statements made during the investigation were inconsistent with the evidence collected and that dealings with multiple entities lacked a clear legitimate business purpose. Allegations of deleted emails and electronic records The court also recorded the ED’s allegation that certain electronic records and emails were deleted after search proceedings, which may have affected the investigation. It was observed that these aspects required deeper examination. The court further held that custodial interrogation was necessary to trace the proceeds of crime, identify other persons involved, and prevent possible tampering of evidence.
I-PAC’s WB office handling Mamata’s electoral strategy closed In West Bengal, the office of I-PAC, the firm managing the election campaign of the TMC and CM Mamata Banerjee, located in Vidhan Nagar, Kolkata, has reportedly been closed since 20 April. According to sources, its HR department has issued letters to around 1,300 employees asking them not to report to work. This development comes with just one day remaining before the first phase of voting. Polling for 152 seats is scheduled for 23 April, while the second phase will be held on 29 April. The results are due on 4 May. I-PAC, has played a key role in managing everything from booth-level operations to leaders’ meetings and rallies for TMC. Surveys conducted by the firm also formed the basis for the party’s decision to deny tickets to nearly 33% of its sitting MLAs in the state. It had reportedly deployed around one lakh shadow agents across 93,000 polling booths in West Bengal. Although the TMC has dismissed reports of the office’s closure, the development has led to confusion among party workers just ahead of the polls. Responding to queries, party MP Derek O’Brien said, “We are the second-largest opposition party in Parliament. We are working with five agencies. Everything is functioning normally.” Another party leader added that the TMC organisation is operating at four levels. Why I-PAC is important for TMC?