A view of the Ahmedabad airport
Credit: iStock Photo
Mumbai: A man wanted by the Enforcement Directorate in a 'cash-for-votes' case-linked money laundering investigation in Maharashtra has been apprehended at the Ahmedabad international airport, official sources said on Wednesday.
Nagani Akram Mohammad Shafi was intercepted by immigration authorities at the airport in neighbouring Gujarat on the basis of a lookout circular (LOC) issued by the ED. He was "trying to flee" to Dubai, they said.
The central agency conducted searches in poll-bound Maharashtra and Gujarat last week in the case registered against a Malegaon-based trader, Siraj Ahmed Harun Meman, who allegedly misused bank accounts of various people to carry out transactions worth more than Rs 100 crore.
Polling for the 288-member Maharashtra Assembly began at 7 am on Wednesday and will continue till 6 pm.
The money laundering case stems from a November 7 Malegaon Police FIR filed against Meman, who runs a tea and cold drinks agency, and some of his associates.
The complainant in the case is a man whose bank account was allegedly misused for illegal transactions, triggering speculation that the accounts were misused for routing election funds.
Shafi, according to the sources, was among those persons on whose instructions Meman opened over a dozen bank accounts and also allegedly transferred funds worth Rs 14 crore through hawala.
Maharashtra BJP leader Kirit Somaiya had flagged this case in Malegaon, calling it a case of "vote jihad scam" wherein cash was allegedly given to voters in exchange for their votes in the assembly polls
Assembly Elections 2024 | The Maharashtra Assembly polls will take place against the backdrop of a fractured political landscape in the western state where the Shiv Sena and NCP will be going up against the Uddhav Thackeray and Sharad Pawar factions, even as the BJP and Congress try to make their mark. Meanwhile, in Jharkhand, the JMM faces a new challenge after Hemant Soren's recent arrest and Champai, a longstanding party member, joining the BJP. The Haryana election resulted in a shock loss for Congress, which was looking to galvanize on the Lok Sabha poll performance, while J&K also saw the grand old party eventually stepping away from the cabinet, with Omar Abdullah's JKNC forming government. It remains to be seen if the upcoming polls help BJP cement its position further or provide a fillip to I.N.D.I.A. Check live updates and track the latest coverage, live news, in-depth opinions, and analyses only on Deccan Herald.
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