Officials said some evidence related to property purchased by Nawab Malik emerged during the investigation.
Mumbai:
Nawab Malik, the second Maharashtra minister to be detained in four months by the central investigative agency, faces charges related to a land deal involving terrorist leader Dawood Ibrahim.
The Bureau of Enforcement claims Nawab Malik obtained a property in Mumbai’s Kurla worth Rs 300 crore by paying just Rs 55 lakh in 2005, with the help of Dawood Ibrahim’s sister, Haseena Parkar, and two associates.
The agency is investigating underworld-related money laundering and has recently made several raids in addition to filing cases against the underworld. Dawood Ibrahim’s brother Iqbal Kaskar was arrested in the case last week.
Some evidence suggests transactions between Nawab Malik and associates of Dawood Ibrahim, Bureau of Enforcement sources said.
The agency first briefly searched Nawab Malik before taking him to the south Mumbai office. The minister was arrested after 5 hours of questioning.
An official said: “He responded evasively and did not cooperate with us.
Sources also said Nawab Malik has been accused of dealings with associates of Dawood Ibrahim and land dealings.
Officials said some evidence related to property purchased by Nawab Malik emerged during the investigation.
Nawab Malik, a five-time MLA, is the national spokesman for the National Congress Party of Sharad Pawar (NCP), a part of the government led by Shiv Sena of Maharashtra. He is the minister in charge of minority affairs.
He is one of the most vocal critics of the BJP and in recent months he has been the face of opposition accusations at the Center over the arrest of megastar Shah Rukh’s son. Khan is Aryan Khan of the Drug Control Bureau.
Responding to the Department of Enforcement’s move, Sharad Pawar said, “What case did they dig up? It’s simple. They take Dawood’s name, especially if there is an Islamic activist (against someone for whom a case is being committed). project dug up) … There was no relationship (between the activist involved and the underworld), but it was done.”
Last week, the Law Enforcement Department conducted a raid at the home of Dawood Ibrahim’s sister in Mumbai in a money-laundering case. The agency also questioned Dawood’s grandson and Parkar’s son Alishah Parkar and Chota Shakeel’s henchman, Salim Qureshi, also Salim Fruit.
