Following his arrest by the Enforcement Directorate on February 23, Maharashtra minister Nawab Malik reacted by smiling for cameras, and saying that he will "fight and win", as he was taken for a medical check-up.
So, who is Nawab Malik, and why is he in trouble with a central agency?
Malik currently handles the ministries of minority development, skill development, employment and entrepreneurship in the Maha Vikas Aghadi government in Maharashtra.
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A leader of the Nationalist Congress Party, or NCP, Malik is considered close to party chief Sharad Pawar. He is also the chief of the NCP's Mumbai unit, and the spokesperson of the party. Malik is reportedly a 5-time MLA from Mumbai's Anushakti Nagar, and prominent as one of the few Muslim leaders of NCP.
Malik dominated headlines last year due to his running feud with Narcotics Control Bureau officer Sameer Wankhede. The drugs control agency had reportedly arrested Malik's son-in-law Sameer Shabbir Khan in 2021. Then, after NCB arrested actor Shah Rukh Khan's son Aryan in the high-profile case regarding drugs being found on a luxury cruise, Malik had conducted multiple press conferences to target NCB officer Sameer Wankhede. Subsequently, the case was transferred to a different team.
The current ED case against Nawab Malik reportedly involves fugitive gangster Dawood Ibrahim. The minister is reportedly under the scanner for alleged transactions and land deals with Dawood's associates. Recently, the ED had conducted raids and arrested Dawood's brother Iqbal Kaskar in the same case, as per reports.