ED questions Nawab Malik in money laundering case linked to Mumbai underworld

Mumbai: The Enforcement Directorate {ED} on Wednesday questioned Maharashtra minority affairs minister Nawab Malik in a money laundering probe linked to the activities of the Mumbai underworld, fugitive gangster Dawood Ibrahim and his aides, officials said. The 62-year-old NCP leader is stated to have arrived at the Enforcement Directorate office in south Mumbai’s Ballard Estate area around 8 am and the agency is recording his statement under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), they added. Shiv Sena spokesperson and MP Sanjay Raut told reporters that Malik was taken away by the ED from his home. “I think this is a challenge to the Maharashtra government…They (central agencies) are free to probe… old issues are being dug out but you should remember that after 2024 you too will be probed,” he said. The Shiv Sena, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and the Congress have joined hands to form the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government led by Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray in the state. Malik’s alleged links in relation to some property deals are said to be under the radar of the federal probe agency and hence his questioning was necessitated. The minister had been in the news for the last few months after he made a number of personal and service-related allegations of wrongdoing against former Mumbai NCB zonal director Sameer Wankhede. These charges came soon after the NCB conducted raids at a cruise in October last year and arrested 20 people including actor Shah Rukh Khan’s Aryan Khan. Malik’s son-in-law Sameer Khan was also arrested in a drugs case by the Narcotics Control Bureau’s Mumbai unit last year. This ED action comes after the registration of a new case and raids conducted by it on 15 February in Mumbai in connection with the operations of the underworld, Ibrahim’s aides, linked alleged illegal property deals and hawala transactions. Searches were conducted at 10 locations, including premises linked to 1993 Mumbai blasts mastermind Dawood Ibrahim’s late sister Haseena Parkar, brother Iqbal Kaskar and Salim Qureshi alias Salim Fruit, brother-in-law of gangster Chhota Shakeel. Kaskar, who was already in jail, has been arrested by the agency last week. It also questioned Salim Qureshi and Parkar’s son. The ED case is based on an FIR filed recently by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) against Ibrahim and others apart from its independent intelligence. The NIA had filed its criminal complaint under sections of the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA). Malik being troubled as he spoke against ‘misuse’ of central agencies: Pawar Maharashtra minister Nawab Malik is being troubled because he spoke against the Union government and misuse of central probe agencies, NCP chief Sharad Pawar claimed on Wednesday. Speaking to reporters in the wake of Malik’s questioning by the Enforcement Directorate in a money laundering case, Pawar said the NCP had anticipated such an action against party leader Malik since he speaks openly. To a question on whether the action against Malik was being taken as he speaks against the Centre or the BJP, Pawar said, “Which case have they dug up? It is simple. They take the name of Dawood, especially if there is a Muslim activist (against whom a case is dug up). There is no relation (between the activist concerned and underworld), but it is done.” Pawar recalled that he too was targeted similarly in the early ’90s when he was the chief minister of Maharashtra and an atmosphere was created against him. BJP’s reaction The BJP, however, said the ED should be allowed to complete its inquiry into the case instead of dubbing the action as “vendetta politics”. Senior BJP leader and former state finance minister Sudhir Mungantiwar told reporters that it is too early to call the ED’s inquiry as “vendetta politics” when the details of the action are not yet out. “What should we call the way Union minister Narayan Rane was arrested a few months back? BJP MLA Nitesh Rane is also being hounded by the state authorities. Malik is not a state-level leader of the NCP. If he has done something suspicious, then it should be probed. There should not be any rush to stamp it as vendetta politics,” Mungantiwar said. Maharashtra BJP vice president Chitra Wagh said a few months back, serious allegations were levelled by former Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis against Malik in connection with a suspicious land deal. “It should be probed thoroughly and the ED officials should be allowed to complete their investigation, she said. Read all the Latest News , Trending News ,  Cricket News , Bollywood News , India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.