Hasan Mushrif’s sons move PMLA court for pre-arrest bail

Fearing arrest by the Enforcement Directorate (ED), three sons of Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Hasan Mushrif on Tuesday approached the special Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court for anticipatory bail in connection with the money laundering allegations

Mumbai: Fearing arrest by the Enforcement Directorate (ED), three sons of Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Hasan Mushrif on Tuesday approached the special Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court for anticipatory bail in connection with the money laundering allegations.

Mumbai, India - January 11, 2023: Senior NCP leader and former Minister of State Hasan Mushrif at Y.B. Chavan Centre, Nariman Point, in Mumbai, India, on Wednesday, January 11, 2023. (Photo by Bhushan Koyande/HT Photo) (HT PHOTO)

The siblings have claimed that no scheduled offence was registered against them or their father for which the ED could have initiated the money laundering probe.

In their separate pleas, the Mushrif brothers—Navid, Aabid and Sajid—have claimed they apprehend arrest by the ED and the real intention behind the action was to target their father, a former cabinet minister.

The special court has asked the ED to reply to their pleas and posted the same for hearing on February 16.

The plea stated that the ED had raided the Kolhapur District Central Co-operative Bank between January 31 and February 2 when employees were compelled to give statements against their father.

“The raid and the so-called investigation were not aimed at unearthing the truth nor were there any attempt to find any evidence of possible crime, but the whole intention and the aim was to get statements of the employees recorded to the effect that the loans advanced by the bank were at the behest of ex-cabinet minister Hasan Mushrif and that the transactions were questionable,” the plea stated.

The plea added that the bank employees were humiliated, tortured and even a woman employee was called at 2am. They claimed that the employees are willing to file affidavits narrating the torture suffered by them. They have further alleged that the ED officers slapped, abused and made the employees stand holding their toes for 2-3 hours.

The Mushrifs also alleged that when the officers were not able to find anything illegal or questionable, there was a query with regards to one signature for which a female clerk, who has a very young child, was called to the bank at 2am. Along with her few other female employees were also called and were made to face an ordeal till 6am after which they were allowed to go home.

Besides, they claimed that filthy language was used while referring to the bank staff and the officers were continuously referring to the senior officers of the bank very rudely and in an abusive manner.

Last month, the ED had raided properties connected to Mushrif, his family members and a sugar factory after BJP leader Kirit Somaiya filed a complaint against him, alleging that the NCP leader was involved in a ₹100-crore corruption case in Appasaheb Nalawade sugar factory in Gadhinglaj.

The factory was taken over by Brisk India Private Limited in 2014. Somaiya alleged that Mateem Hasin Mangoli, a relative of Mushrif, was the benami owner of Brisk, and the factory was given to the firm to operate for ten years without following any bidding process.

The Mushrif brothers claimed that they are directors of Sar Senapati Santaji Ghorpade Sugar Factory which is in the business of manufacturing and sale of sugar and allied products.

Giving a background to the case, the plea stated that the Income Tax department had carried out raids in July 2017. Based on the documents seized from the raid, the I-T department started proceedings under the Prohibition of Benami Transactions Act in the year 2020.

Besides, it was alleged that Somaiya filed a complaint with the Registrar of Companies in Pune. Based on his complaint, the ROC filed a private complaint with the sessions court in March 2022. Challenging this, the family approached the Bombay high court, which stayed the proceedings on May 2, 2022.

The brothers claimed that even after the stay, the ROC continued to pass an order against them and based on the proceedings initiated by the ROC, the ED initiated the money laundering probe. It is claimed that apart from this no other criminal proceedings are pending against them, and the action of ED was politically motivated.