ED conducts raid at 10 locations across Bengal in illegal call centre case

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) launched a series of coordinated raids across West Bengal on Monday morning, targeting an alleged illegal call centre syndicate. Barely 24 hours after the 2026 Assembly election schedule was announced, federal agents descended upon 10 locations across the state. The searches were concentrated in major hubs including Kolkata, Siliguri, Howrah, Bidhannagar, and Durgapur, as the agency looks to uncover the financial trail of a massive fraud operation that has reportedly duped numerous citizens.

During the operation, the agency focused on several key individuals linked to the scam, including Surashree Kar, Samrat Ghosh, and Subhajit Chakraborty. Officials believe these call centres operated as fronts for financial extortion and money laundering. While the primary investigation revolves around the embezzlement of funds from unsuspecting victims, the timing of the raids has sparked speculation regarding whether the proceeds were being diverted toward political funding or electoral inducements.

The federal agency's move comes at a sensitive time, as the state has just entered the Model Code of Conduct phase following the Election Commission's announcement on Sunday. The ED is currently scrutinizing digital devices, bank statements, and server logs seized from the premises to determine the total scale of the fraud. Investigators are also probing the "layering" of funds, where stolen money was moved through multiple shell accounts to hide its origin, a classic hallmark of money laundering.