Lagatar24 Desk
New Delhi, Nov 30: A Mumbai court on Wednesday denied a bail request made by former Maharashtra cabinet minister Nawab Malik in connection with a money laundering offence involving mafia don Dawood Ibrahim.
RN Rokade, a special judge, delivered the decision today on Malik’s ordinary bail plea. The order’s full copy is awaited.
Malik was detained by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on suspicion of buying a property from Ibrahim for less money than it was worth. Malik was allegedly forced to sign the summons that ED had given him before being taken away from his home at 7 am on February 23 for questioning.
Malik was detained and held in ED custody for 8 days before being transferred to judicial custody following an over 8-hour questioning. Malik had also filed a Habeas Corpus plea with the Bombay High Court, but it was denied. The Supreme Court upheld the same.
Malik moved for regular bail in accordance with Section 439 of the Code of Criminal Procedure after the Special PMLA Court took cognizance of the chargesheet in May 2022.
Malik argued that despite having a lengthy chargesheet totaling nine volumes and a lengthy investigation lasting more than six months, ED still relied solely on Munira’s statement, which was made 22 years later, without any supporting evidence that would have demonstrated the falsehood of the allegation.
