IT raids TMC’s Debashish Kumar’s home, poll office in Kolkata in multi-crore money laundering case
Kolkata: The Income Tax Department on Friday carried out searches at two premises linked to Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader Debashish Kumar in Kolkata, escalating a multi-crore money laundering investigation that has gathered pace ahead of the Assembly elections.
Officials, accompanied by central forces, conducted simultaneous raids at Kumar’s residence on Manoharpukur Road and his election office in the Rashbehari Assembly constituency.
The coordinated action marks a significant expansion of the probe, which is being closely linked to an ongoing Enforcement Directorate (ED) investigation.
Kumar, a mayoral council member of the Kolkata Municipal Corporation and the sitting MLA from Rashbehari, has already been questioned twice by the Enforcement Directorate in connection with the case.
Investigators are now expected to deepen scrutiny using digital evidence, including WhatsApp chat records.
The case centres around alleged irregularities involving disputed land deals in Kolkata.
According to agency sources, a businessman, Amit Gangopadhyay, is accused of securing documentation for controversial land parcels through municipal channels and selling them onward, generating illegal gains worth crores.
Investigators are probing whether Kumar, by virtue of his official position, facilitated or enabled these transactions.
His name reportedly surfaced during the course of the ED’s investigation, prompting multiple rounds of questioning and now fresh searches by the Income Tax Department.
The raids triggered sharp political reactions on the ground. TMC workers gathered near the sites and raised slogans against BJP candidate Swapan Dasgupta, alleging attempts to interfere with documents.
The situation briefly turned tense as protests broke out in the locality. The raid comes at a politically sensitive moment, with the spotlight firmly on key candidates as the state heads into elections, adding a new flashpoint to an already heated contest.