ED arrests I-PAC director Vinesh Chandel in Bengal coal scam case

Director of political consultancy I-PAC, Vinesh Chandel, was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate in Delhi on Monday in connection with a money laundering case linked to an alleged coal smuggling operation in West Bengal, PTI reported.

An unidentified official said that Chandel was taken into custody under provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act and produced before a special court on Monday night.

I-PAC, or the Indian Political Action Committee, has managed the Trinamool Congress’ election campaigns, including the 2021 Assembly elections, and is managing the party’s campaign for the upcoming Assembly polls.

The polls will be held in two phases on April 23 and April 29. The counting of votes will take place on May 4.

Delhi: ED took I-PAC Director and Co-Founder Vinesh Chandel out of the judge’s residence. pic.twitter.com/0v7glTQ8Ik— IANS (@ians_india) April 14, 2026

On April 2, the ED had searched Chandel’s residence in Delhi, as well as the premises of another I-PAC director, Rishi Raj Singh, in Bengaluru and former Aam Aadmi Party communications in-charge Vijay Nair in Mumbai, among others, as part of the investigation.

The agency’s case stems from a November 2020 first information report registered by the Central Bureau of Investigation about an alleged coal smuggling syndicate that was used to “steal and illegally excavate coal from [Eastern Coalfields Limited]...

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