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 ldquomisuserdquo of central probe agencies NCP chief Sharad Pawar claimed here on WednesdaySpeaking to reporters in the wake of Maliks 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 ldquospeaks openlyrdquoMaliks office in a Twitter post on Wednesday said the ED officials came to ministers residence here in the morning and accompanied him in his vehicle to the probe agencys officeThe ministers office also said he ldquowont be afraid and wont bow downrdquoTo 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 donerdquoPawar recalled that he too was ldquotargeted similarlyrdquo in the early 90s when he was the chief minister of Maharashtra and an atmosphere was created against himldquoTwentyfive years have passed since then Similarly names of underworld are being taken to defame people trouble them and misuse the power People who take positions against the Centre or the misuse of probe agencies are being troubled and this is what has happened hererdquo the NCP president saidMeanwhile Maliks office in a tweet said ldquoToday morning the ED had come to nawabmalikncp sahebs residence They accompanied saheb in his vehicle to the ED office Advocate Amir Malik Sahebs son has accompanied saheb along withldquoNa darenge na jhukenge wont be afraid wont bow down Be ready for 2024iquest the ministers office said in another tweet with the hashtag ldquoWe stand with Nawab MalikrdquoThe ED on Wednesday questioned Maharashtra Minority Affairs Minister and NCPs chief spokesperson Malik in a money laundering probe linked to the activities of the Mumbai underworld fugitive gangster Dawood Ibrahim and his aides officials saidThe 62yearold NCP leader is stated to have arrived at the Enforcement Directorate office in south Mumbais Ballard Estate area around 8 AM and the agency is recording his statement under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act PMLA they addedThe minister had been in the news for the last few months after he made a number of personal and servicerelated allegations of wrongdoing against former Mumbai NCB zonal director Sameer WankhedeThese charges came soon after the Narcotics Control Bureau NCB conducted raids on a cruise in October last year and arrested 20 people including actor Shah Rukh Khans Aryan KhanMal iks soninlaw Sameer Khan was also arrested in a drugs case by the NCBs Mumbai unit last yearThe EDs move comes after registration of a new case and raids conducted by it on February 15 in Mumbai in connection with the operations of the underworld linked alleged illegal property deals and hawala transactionsThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever