New Delhi: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Thursday approached the Supreme Court with a fresh application ahead of the hearing in the IPAC raids matter, seeking the suspension of West Bengal Director General of Police (DGP) Rajiv Kumar and disciplinary action against senior state police officials.

In its plea, the central agency has called for disciplinary proceedings against senior officers of the West Bengal Police, alleging misconduct and lack of cooperation during the ED’s investigation. It has further urged the apex court to direct the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) and the Union Ministry of Home Affairs to initiate disciplinary action against the concerned officials.

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The ED has alleged interference and obstruction by the Mamata Banerjee-led West Bengal government during its search operations and has also sought directions for a CBI probe into the matter.

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Earlier, on January 8, the ED raided the offices of political consultancy firm IPAC in Kolkata. The searches triggered high political drama after Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee arrived at the venue and accused the agency of taking away her party documents on the directives of the Centre.

Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has questioned the legality of the raids, alleging a conspiracy to "steal" the TMC's election-related data. A day after the searches, she led a street protest in Kolkata, while several TMC MPs demonstrated outside the Union Home Ministry in Delhi.

Anticipating the ED’s move, the West Bengal government filed a caveat in the Supreme Court, requesting that no order be passed without hearing the state. Separately, it moved the Calcutta High Court, alleging that the ED seized all data and digital records from I-PAC's office.

The state government has sought directions to the ED to return all seized materials, including private, sensitive and confidential data, claiming the information belongs to the TMC and relates to its internal party operations.