Maharashtra minister Nawab Malik, arrested by the Enforcement Directorate in a money laundering case, sought interim bail on the medical reason from a special Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court in Mumbai on Thursday.

Malik, 62, had earlier told the court that was unwell due to kidney ailments and had swelling in his legs.

The Nationalist Congress Party leader, who is currently in judicial custody, was arrested on February 23 by the ED in connection with a money-laundering probe linked to the activities of fugitive gangster Dawood Ibrahim and his aides, under provisions of the PMLA.

His advocate Tarraq Sayyed moved the plea for interim bail before special judge R N Rokade.

The court is likely to hear the plea on Monday.

The ED’s case is based on an FIR filed recently by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) against Dawood Ibrahim and others.

The NIA had filed its criminal complaint under sections of the stringent Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA).

The ED earlier this month filed an over 5,000-page charge sheet in the case against Malik.

The NCP leader had denied all charges leveled against him and moved the Supreme Court against an order of the Bombay HC, which had rejected his interim application seeking immediate release from jail.

The Supreme Court had also refused to grant him any relief, noting the probe into the case is at a nascent stage.

Nagpur: Ambazari police have booked a gym trainer on the charges of raping a teenage girl residing at his house as a tenant. The accused has reportedly been arrested.

The accused has been identified as Prateek Prabhakar Gajbhiye (23). He is a gym trainer by profession.

According to police, the victim girl (19), a Class 12 student, stays with her mother. Both the mother-daughter duo are tenants of Gajbhiye. On Tuesday, she was alone at her house. The girl demanded a mobile phone charger from Prateek around 12 noon. The accused, on the pretext of giving the charger, came to the girl’s house and shut the door from inside. The accused raped her forcibly and also threatened to harm her if she opened her mouth about the incident.

Ambazari PSI Satish Gulbe, acting on the girl’s complaint, booked the accused Prateek Gajbhiye under Sections 376, 506 of the IPC and placed him under arrest. Further probe is underway.

Nagpur: Two beggars attacked a 35-year-old man with knives when he refused to give them money. Tehsil Police nabbed one of the two assailants.

A resident of Sakkardara, near Sarwar Mosque, Ezaz Khan Samat Khan (35) was consuming ‘Kharra’ near Gandhi Mahaveer Commercial Company, Patni Bhavan, Gandhibagh around 3 am on Sunday. Two beggars came and requested him to share ‘Kharra.’ After Khan gave them ‘Kharra,’ they then demanded him money for tea. When he refused, they attacked him with knives inflicting injuries to his abdomen. After Khan raised an alarm, the two attackers ran away.

Tehsil Police, based on Khan’s complaint, registered a case under Sections 326, 504, and 34 of the Indian Penal Code against the assailants. Later, cops arrested one Raja Baba Zodape in this connection. Further investigations are underway.

The High Court allowed the petitioner partnership firm M/s Atasha Ashirvad Builders, Nagpur, to withdraw its writ petition and imposed the ‘exemplary costs’ of Rs 1 lakh on it.

Nagpur: Striking a balance between ending controversy and fulfilling the need for maintaining purity of the system of administration of justice, the Nagpur Bench of Bombay High Court has allowed the petitioner partnership firm M/s Atasha Ashirvad Builders, Nagpur, to withdraw its writ petition and imposed ‘exemplary costs’ of Rs 1 lakh on it.

Accordingly, the Division Bench comprising Justice Sunil B Shukre and Justice M S Jawalkar at the High Court here has directed that half of the number of costs shall be paid to the respondent — Sandeep Constructions, Hinganghat in Wardha district through RTGS mode or demand-draft and remaining 50 percent shall be deposited in the High Court Legal Services Sub-Committee, Nagpur, within two weeks from the date of this order.

The High Court has noted that on going through the affidavit filed by the petitioner, it has noticed that still the petitioner has not admitted his mistake about tendering to the court a false and fabricated document, and now even the petitioner contends that the document of September 16, 2021, on which reliance was placed is now not traceable. The High Court reminded that it had already recorded a prima-facie finding that there was some interpolation and overwriting in this document of September 16, 2021, which related to the date of its receipt by the authority. With all this in the background, this court had directed the petitioner to produce on record a copy of the letter of September 16, 2021, bearing the original acknowledgment.

Initially, the petitioner did not submit the document on ‘some grounds’, and now the petitioner states that this document is not traceable. The High Court has pointed out that having relied upon the document which apparently contains interpolation and overwriting, the petitioner now cannot shy away from the responsibility to produce on record a document that contains an original acknowledgment given by the Public Works Department. But, the petitioner still maintained the stand he had taken recently.

The petitioner’s prayer for permission to withdraw the petition was opposed by Adv R M Bhangde on behalf of the respondent— Sandeep Constructions, stating that the misconduct of the petitioner committed deliberately, must be taken to its logical end by the High Court by taking action for contempt of court against him.

Adv Kaustubh Deogade appeared for the petitioner. Additional GP D P Thakre represented the State.