Shortly after the Enforcement Directorate (ED) apprehended Maharashtra minister Nawab Malik in connection with a money laundering case related to underworld don Dawood Ibrahim and his associates, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee conveyed her support by conversing with NCP chief Sharad Pawar.
Nawab Malik, a leader of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), was arrested on Wednesday, and upon exiting the ED office after questioning, he asserted to reporters, “Ladenge, jeetenge, sab ko expose karenge” (We will fight, win, and expose everyone). Subsequently, he underwent a medical checkup at J J Hospital before being presented in a special court. Malik’s legal representatives have requested time to confer with him.
Among the charges under scrutiny by the ED, initially raised by former Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, is a property transaction involving Malik. Allegations suggest that Malik purchased the property from an associate of Dawood Ibrahim at a price lower than the prevailing market rate.
The ED is specifically investigating a payment of Rs 80 lakh made by Nawab Malik to Haseena Parkar, Dawood Ibrahim’s sister, for the acquisition of a 3-acre land in Kurla. Of this amount, approximately Rs 25 lakh was paid via cheque, while Rs 55 lakh was transacted in cash.
