A Special PMLA court has extended the Enforcement Directorate (ED) custody of Maharashtra minister and NCP leader Nawab Malik till March 7. The Maharashtra Minority Affairs Minister was detained by ED in connection with a money-laundering probe linked to the activities of fugitive gangster Dawood Ibrahim and his aides.
Malik was arrested on February 23 after being questioned for about five hours at the Enforcement Directorate's (ED) office in south Mumbai. He was produced before special court judge RN Rokade at the end of his initial remand on Thursday. The court extended his custody till March 7 for further probe into the case.
Considering the fact that the accused was in hospital from February 25 to 28 (during his previous ED custody) and also new facts have emerged during investigation, the accused is being sent to further custody, the court said. The ED's case is based on an FIR filed recently by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) against Dawood Ibrahim and others. The NIA had filed its criminal complaint under sections of the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA).
Meanwhile, ahead of the Maharashtra legislature's budget session, the BJP leaders on Thursday (March 3, 2022) staged a protest against the Uddhav Thackeray-led government's decision to not remove Nawab Malik from his post.
Leader of Opposition in the state Assembly Devendra Fadnavis claimed it is for the first time in Maharashtra's history that a state cabinet minister has been arrested over links with the associates of Dawood Ibrahim, who is accused of masterminding the serial bomb blasts in Mumbai in 1993. "Why is Malik being protected? Is this government committed to Dawood Ibrahim? Under whose pressure is the government working?" Fadnavis asked the Maha Vikas Aghadi government. The former CM also said the BJP was firm on its demand for Malik's resignation.
