The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Thursday conducted searches at multiple locations in Uttar Pradesh and Delhi as part of a money laundering investigation against mafia-turned-politician Mukhtar Ansari and his Parliamentarian brother Afzal Ansari.
The agency searched the official residence of BSP MP Afzal Ansari in Delhi as part of multi-city raids being conducted in the money laundering investigation against his jailed brother Mukhtar Ansari, officials said.
Ghazipur legislator Mukhtar Ansari’s government accommodation at Janpath in central Delhi was also searched. The searches were carried out along with a CRPF security escort.
The searches are being conducted at premises located in Ghazipur, Mohammadabad (in Ghazipur district), Mau and state capital Lucknow in Uttar Pradesh apart from Delhi which are linked to Mukhtar Ansari and his alleged associates, they said.
The action is aimed at gathering evidence with regard to an ongoing investigation against Mukhtar Ansari and his associates under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), the sources said.
Mukhtar Ansari, a five-time former MLA, is currently lodged in jail at Banda in Uttar Pradesh.
He is being probed by the ED in connection with at least 49 criminal cases booked against him including those on charges of land grabbing, murder and extortion.
He faces trial in Uttar Pradesh in several cases, including attempt to murder and murder.
Last week, the Ghazipur district administration seized two plots of land, measuring 1.901 hectares and valued at over Rs 6 crore, that were purchased using alleged illegal earnings of Mukhtar Ansari, according to police.
In July, the Uttar Pradesh Police attached Afzal Ansari's assets worth Rs 14.90 crore under the Gangster Act.