ED team came to steal voter info, says Didi, files FIRs against officials

KOLKATA: A day after a tense standoff with an ED team during its raid at I-PAC office in Kolkata on Thursday, West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee lodged on Friday two FIRs against "unidentified" ED officials for "theft, criminal trespass, criminal intimidation and tampering with electronic data" and led a 6km-long protest march in Kolkata, ending it with a speech and thundering that "an injured tiger is more dangerous than a healthy one".

By all accounts, it's the first time that a chief minister has lodged FIRs against a central probe agency, at least unheard of in West Bengal that is currently headed for assembly elections.




While addressing a rally at the end of the two-hour march from Jadavpur to Hazra crossing, Banerjee said, "What I did was in the capacity of TMC chairperson. I did nothing wrong. If you come to kill me, I have every right to defend myself. Why did you come like a thief? You came to steal information."

Banerjee emailed a complaint against ED to Shakespeare Sarani police station on Thursday night, which led to registration of the first FIR on Friday. The FIR was drawn up under BNS sections 303, 332 and 3(5), along with section 66 of IT Act. The CM's second FIR was lodged with Electronic Complex police station in Salt Lake Sector V.

The CM is said to have drafted both complaints while sitting outside I-PAC office at Godrej Waterside building in Sector V on Thursday. She had stationed herself there for four hours while ED sleuths were searching the office.

Meanwhile, ending the march at Hazra crossing, the CM said that I-PAC had once worked with BJP too, adding, "They (I-PAC) have worked for Chandrababu Naidu, Jagan Reddy and Nitish Kumar too. They (BJP) have so many, yet they have declared a war (against us)."

Warning her detractors, the CM said an injured tiger is more dangerous than a healthy one. "They awakened me through this attack. I feel rejuvenated after yesterday's incident," she said.

Banerjee alleged that Union minister Amit Shah and Bengal BJP functionary Suvendu Adhikari have links with the coal scam, which triggered Thursday's searches. "They talk about coal money, but who took it? It went to Amit Shah through the traitor. He has become Shah's adopted son. Along with him is BJP's Jagannath. The money reaches Suvendu Adhikari via Jagannath and then goes to Shah through Adhikari... You are lucky I have not released any pen drives yet. If you cross limits, I will expose you. I maintain courtesy up to a point, but there is a limit. I know many things, but I keep silent for the sake of the country. If I speak, there will be uproar worldwide," she said.
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