The Enforcement Directorate (ED) carried out extensive raids on Thursday, January 8, 2026, targeting 15 locations across six Indian states in connection with a large-scale fake government jobs scam. The states involved in the operation include Bihar (Muzaffarpur and Motihari), West Bengal (Kolkata), Kerala (Ernakulam, Pandalam, Adoor, and Kodur), Tamil Nadu (Chennai), Gujarat (Rajkot), and Uttar Pradesh (Gorakhpur, Prayagraj, and Lucknow). The investigation focuses on an organized gang that allegedly issued fraudulent joining letters to job aspirants, impersonating official government domains through fake email accounts. To build trust and deceive victims, the fraudsters reportedly even paid initial salaries for two to three months to individuals who believed they had secured roles in various government organizations. Initially, the scam was detected primarily in the name of Indian Railways. However, a deeper probe revealed its reach extended to over 40 other government departments and organizations. These include critical entities such as the Forest Department, Indian Post, Income Tax Department, various High Courts, Public Works Department (PWD), Bihar government, Delhi Development Authority (DDA), and the Rajasthan Secretariat, among others. The ED's action is part of a broader money laundering investigation aimed at tracing the proceeds of crime. A political dimension emerged when raids in Kolkata also included premises linked to the Indian Political Action Committee (I-PAC), prompting West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee to allege political vendetta and misuse of central agencies. The current widespread raids underscore the serious nature and national impact of this sophisticated fraud scheme.