ED raids Nadim-linked premises across 3 states

Kolkata: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Monday conducted coordinated searches at at least seven locations across West Bengal, Delhi and Jharkhand as part of a money-laundering investigation involving TMC Rajya Sabha MP Nadimul Haque. In Kolkata, ED teams backed by central paramilitary personnel searched several properties linked to Haque in the Park Circus area, including the office of Urdu daily Akhbar-E-Mashriq, where the MP is a director. The probe is understood to have stemmed from an FIR registered by the Bidhannagar Police Commissionerate and is examining alleged suspicious funding patterns and unaccounted cash transactions. Simultaneous searches were conducted at the Delhi and Jharkhand residences of Haque's close relatives, including his daughter and son-in-law. His official residence on South Avenue in Delhi, which also serves as the TMC's official party office for the Mamata Banerjee faction, was among the premises searched. Haque's wife was questioned by the agency in Kolkata, while the MP was not present. The raids triggered a fresh political confrontation in Bengal. BJP state president Shamik Bhattacharya said the party did not indulge in CBI-ED politics and that the agency was 'doing its work'. The searches continued for nearly 12 hours till reports last came in.