Bengal Governor receives threat via email after ED raid drama; sender arrested

West Bengal Governor CV Ananda Bose received an email threatening to “blast” him, following which security has been tightened at his official residence and office, Lok Bhavan.

The authorities have also informed the Ministry of Home Affairs, headed by Amit Shah, about the threat email sent to the Governor.

Threat email sender arrested

Meanwhile, police have arrested the man who allegedly sent a death threat email to Governor CV Ananda Bose, a senior Lok Bhavan official said on Friday (January 9).

The accused was nabbed from the Salt Lake area near Kolkata late on Thursday (January 8), he said.

Also Read: Mamata Banerjee has right to question SIR, says West Bengal Governor CV Ananda Bose

“This person is being questioned for more information regarding the matter,” the official said.

The sender had threatened to "blast" the governor, the official said, adding that the accused had also mentioned his mobile number in the email.

BJP criticises Mamata's governance

Reacting to the incident, BJP leader Amit Malviya criticised West Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee over the law and order situation in the state, where elections are due by April this year.

"Welcome to Mamata Banerjee’s regime, where even the Governor is not safe. Law and order has completely collapsed in West Bengal," Malviya was quoted as saying, according to an NDTV report.

He further alleged that Banerjee, who also holds the Home portfolio, was "busy snatching incriminating files from the ED to protect a private firm accused of coal smuggling and money laundering", and called her "an unmitigated disaster".

ED raid row

Malviya was referring to the high-pitched political drama that unfolded a day earlier during an Enforcement Directorate (ED) operation against political consultancy firm I-PAC in connection with a coal smuggling case.

Also Read: TMC MPs detained outside Amit Shah’s office as ED raids on I-PAC spark showdown

According to BJP leaders, including Malviya, Mamata entered the I-PAC office while the ED action was underway and left with papers, laptops, and pen drives.

"It was an official action with nothing to do with politics. The ED had specific intelligence. But her actions suggest there was something she wanted to hide," BJP leader Subhas Sarkar told reporters.

TMC alleges political vendetta

Both the ED and the West Bengal government have moved court over the matter. While the state government has alleged political vendetta behind the ED action, the agency has accused the state of obstructing its investigation.

"The federal structure is under attack by the party in power at the Centre. The only leader in India who can challenge the BJP is our Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee," Trinamool Congress leader Bedabrata Dutta said.

Banerjee has alleged that the ED attempted to seize party-related materials, including hard drives, candidate lists, and strategic documents, and accused Amit Shah of misusing central agencies.

BJP-TMC face-off

Amid the intensifying BJP-TMC confrontation, Mamata Banerjee is set to lead a protest in Kolkata on January 9 against the ED raids, as West Bengal prepares for elections in the first half of the year.

Also Read: ED raids at I-PAC spark political confrontation in West Bengal | Capital Beat

BJP spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla claimed that Banerjee had become the first chief minister in the country’s history to tamper with evidence during a raid on a private firm.

The West Bengal Chief Minister is scheduled to lead the protest in Kolkata later on Friday against the ED action.