Amid the growing attacks on the federal agency’s teams and obstruction in its searches or investigations, the Ministry of Home Affairs has decided to deploy the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) at all the offices of the Enforcement Directorate, people familiar with the matter said.

The ministry has authorised the deployment of the central force to the Enforcement Directorate's offices in Kolkata, Ranchi, Raipur, Jaipur, Jalandhar, Kochi, and Mumbai at no cost. However, they are still working out how to cover the expenses for deployment at other offices, according to anonymous sources.

CISF is the only central paramilitary force that is usually deployed at an establishment on a “cost-reimbursement basis”. “A proposal was received from the ED to provide CISF cover to all its offices. For now, the competent authority has given in-principle approval for deploying CISF at ED offices in Maharashtra, West Bengal, Punjab, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Kerala and Chandigarh on a no-cost basis,” said one of the two, a home ministry official. This means that the expenses for CISF’s deployment at ED offices will be borne by the Centre for now.

According to a Home Ministry official, a regular deployment plan will be developed by the CISF based on threat assessments from intelligence agencies and inputs from the Enforcement Directorate.

The discussions are continuing regarding CISF coverage at ED offices in other states as well.

The agency presently functions from 21 zonal and 18 sub-zonal offices across 40 cities in five regions- west, east, central, south, and north, ensuring a nationwide presence. Its headquarters on Dr APJ Abdul Kalam Road in Delhi is already under CISF protection.

A team of ED’s Kolkata unit came under attack from a mob on January 5 this year, in which three officers were injured.

Earlier, on December 1-2 last year, the Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption (DVAC) in Tamil Nadu apprehended Ankit Tiwari, an officer from the Enforcement Directorate (ED), on charges of extortion. Following this, they conducted a raid on the agency's sub-zonal office in Madurai. The agency lodged a complaint with the state police chief, claiming that sensitive documents had been pilfered from its office.

In the past decade, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) has filed an average of 500 cases annually under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), implicating individuals from political parties and influential private circles, as indicated by officials. The agency has faced criticism for allegedly targeting political adversaries of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in states governed by opposition parties. However, ED officials contend that out of over 5,100 PMLA cases registered in the last decade, only about 2-3% involve politicians. Over the past 10 years, the agency has seized properties valued at ₹1.21 lakh crore and apprehended 755 individuals, in contrast to attachments worth ₹5,086 crore and 29 arrests during the UPA's tenure.

“The ED conveyed to the government that the nature of cases being probed by it are of sensitive nature and any attack on its men, loss of evidence including statements of witnesses and accused, digital devices not only affect its probes but also impacts the morale of the investigators,” said the second person cited above.

Asked for a timeline for complete CISF deployment at its offices, a senior ED officer said, “CISF will conduct a survey to ascertain the requirement of personnel at each office. The entire exercise may take a few months”.

At present, teams from the ED as well as the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the National Investigation Agency (NIA), are being joined by central paramilitary forces like the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and CISF during raids in various states such as West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Jharkhand, Jammu and Kashmir, among others. Additionally, local police forces accompany ED teams in numerous states and Union territories where the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) holds authority.

Image source: Hindustan Times