Maharashtra’s Minority Minister Nawab Malik
Image Source: India TV
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) arrested and questioned Maharashtra’s minority minister Nawab Malik today in connection with a money-laundering investigation involving fugitive underworld don Dawood Ibrahim and his associates.
In his media appearances, Mr Malik can be seen waving his hand in the air and saying he will not bow down. It was seen that he was being taken for a medical check-up before questioning.
NDTV reported that Mr Malik was grilled by the ED over his alleged transactions with the fugitive underworld don Dawood and his allies. The ED has stated that Mr Malik had conducted land deals with them and was uncooperative with the investigation. The ED raided several places before detaining Mr Malik, including Dawood Ibrahim’s late sister Haseena Parker, his brother Iqbal Kaskar, and Salim Qureshi (who is the brother-in-law of Chota Shakeel).
Iqbal Kaskar was apprehended by the ED during the raids and will be questioned further. Furthermore, during the raids evidence came to light that Mr Malik had allegedly purchased a property from the accused.
The ED had conducted a raid on Mr Malik’s home at 6 AM today and questioned him for an hour. He was later brought into the ED office where he was questioned for another 8 hours. Several NCP workers protested in front of the ED office in south Mumbai as soon as the news of his arrest broke. Several ruling leaders in Maharashtra criticised the arrest and have said that it was a political vendetta against opposition leaders.
However, the opposition BJP has refuted all charges of political vendetta and accused Mr Malik of buying land from Dawood Ibrahim.
