New Delhi, April 14 -- The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Monday arrested political consultancy firm I-PAC's director Vinesh Chandel in connection with its probe into a case related to alleged illegal mining and transportation of coal in West Bengal, officials aware of the matter said. The arrest comes more than a week after the federal agency conducted raids at Chandel's residence in Delhi, and the premises of another director Rishi Raj Singh and former communications in-charge of Aam Aadmi Party Vijay Nair. Officials said Chandel was taken into custody under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) in Delhi and will be produced before a court on Tuesday. ED has alleged that around Rs.20 crore proceeds of crime generated in the West Bengal coal mining racket were transferred through hawala channels to I-PAC. Earlier, in January, a dramatic raid at the office of I-PAC and its director Pratik Jain turned into a legal battle with the West Bengal government. ED had accused chief minister Mamata Banerjee of obstructing its searches and taking away the evidence while Banerjee alleged that ED was attempting to take away Trinamool Congress' (TMC's) election strategy-related documents from I-PAC premises just before the assembly polls. Banerjee has alleged that the federal agency targeted I-PAC, which works with the TMC, to steal the party data. ED's money laundering probe is based on a Central Bureau of Investigation's FIR of 2020 on allegations that coal was illegally mined at Eastern Coalfields Ltd's mines in Kunustoria and Kajora in West Bengal. The agency had earlier questioned TMC national general secretary and Lok Sabha MP Abhishek Banerjee, alleging he was a beneficiary of funds from the illegal mining. In a statement, I-PAC had said that its role is limited to transparent and professional political consulting, uninfluenced by differences in political ideology. "We believe this [the raids] raises serious concerns and sets an unsettling precedent. Regardless, we have extended full cooperation... engaging with the process in complete accordance and respect for the law," it added....