Maharashtra’s Minister Nawab Malik was allowed to be treated at a private hospital by a special court in Mumbai on Friday. The 62-year-old leader, detained in a money laundering case, had applied for permission to be treated at a private hospital. His lawyer told the court earlier this month that he was in a serious condition being treated at JJ State Hospital.
KushalMor, the senior leader of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), had previously said Malik’s condition in Arthur Road prison was deteriorating when he asked the Special Court to allow the minister’s transfer to a private hospital. He expressed his concern about the prison authorities not informing the court of Malik’s condition, a report was then requested by the hospital. His family was also allowed to pick him up at the hospital.
The Enforcement Directorate did not raise any objection to the lawyer’s application. The NCP leader was arrested in February on a money laundering case linked to Dawood Ibrahim, the mastermind behind the 1993 Mumbai bombings, according to Underworld don.
The minister was brought before the end of his 14-day extended prison sentence on Friday. In April, the Supreme Court refused to intervene to obtain his release. “It is too early a stage to disrupt the investigation. We cannot interfere with the due process at this time. You should turn on the competent court,” the court said at the time. Following the arrest of BJP critic Malik, the state’s ruling coalition of Shiv Sena, NCP and Congress had alleged the center’s abuse of investigative agencies against rivals.
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