The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Tuesday, 24 November, raided the residential and office premises of Shiv Sena leader Pratap Sarnaik. The ED started conducting searches at multiple places associated with Sarnaik in connection with a money laundering case.
The searches are being conducted at 10 locations linked to Sarnaik in Thane and Mumbai under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), reported news agency PTI.
Sarnaik, 56, is a three-time MLA from the Ovala-Majiwada constituency in Thane and is the Chairman of the Vihang Group of Companies with interests in varied sectors.
“The searches are being conducted on the Tops group promoters and related people, including some politicians,” an official source told PTI.
Sena Chief Spokesperson Sanjay Raut attacked the Centre for using raids as a political weapon to against opponents.
“We all know that the ED and the CBI are being misused. They are puppets in the hands of the Centre. But, we will not bow down before anybody,” IANS quoted Raut as saying.
The ruling Shiv Sena-Nationalist Congress Party slammed the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for using central agencies to pressurize the MVA government and demoralize its leaders.
Sarnaik has been critical of Bollywood actress Kangana Ranaut and Republic TV Chief Editor Arnab Goswami in the past few weeks.
He had demanded action against Ranaut when she equated Mumbai with Pakistan Occupied Kashmir and the reopening of the Anvay Naik and his mother’s suicide case in which Goswami had been arrested earlier this month, reported IANS.
(With inputs from IANS and PTI)
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