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Nawab Malik, a Maharashtra minister and NCP spokesperson, has been held in the custody of the Enforcement Directorate till March 3. On Wednesday, he was arrested in connection with a money laundering case involving fugitive gangster Dawood Ibrahim.

On Wednesday morning, Nawab Malik was taken to the ED’s office in south Mumbai for questioning, after which he was arrested. In the afternoon, the 62-year-old NCP leader was transferred to the state-run JJ Hospital for a regular medical examination.

After the Enforcement Directorate detained him this afternoon in a money laundering case linked to the activities of fugitive criminal Dawood Ibrahim, his associates, and the Mumbai underworld, the Maharashtra minister was brought before a special court in Mumbai.

Nawab Malik has been remanded in ED custody until March 3 by the court.

Malik and Haseena Parkar, Ibrahim’s late sister, “intended to seize a property (in suburban Mumbai),” according to the agency’s remand plea. Malik allegedly seized control of Solidus Investments Pvt Ltd, which was managed by Parkar’s aide, and became tenants of the property under investigation, according to the agency. The land was then illegally taken over by Malik, Parkar, and Sardar Khan, a 1993 Bombay bombings convict.

According to the remand, a Rs 30 lakh deal was signed on September 15, 2005. “Malik also introduced fake tenants in order to decrease the register value. Despite the reduced register rate, the market value according to the sale deed is Rs 3.3 crore, although Malik only paid Rs 15 lakhs in total.

According to the ED, Iqbal Malik, Nawab Malik’s brother, gave Rs 55 lakh in cash and Rs 5 lakh in cheque to Parkar in exchange of the plot. “… For Usurping the Property, members of the D gang and Malik conspired and executed many legal documents to give the criminal operation a veneer of legitimacy.” Malik supported the D-company financially by paying consideration for an unlawfully occupied Parkar share. In exchange for the property, Malik supported Dawood Ibrahim’s terror network through Parkar, per the remand.

Nawab Malik told the court that he was forcefully taken to the agency’s office. “They came to my residence early in the morning and forcefully took me. Summons were served at the ED office after I was brought here. I was detained from my residence,” said Malik.

Also Read: BJP demands for Nawab Malik’s resignation after his detention