New Delhi: The Enforcement Directorate on Wednesday, February 23, arrested Maharashtra minority affairs minister Nawab Malik after questioning him since morning in a money laundering investigation linked to the activities of fugitive gangster Dawood Ibrahim and his aides.Malik raised his fist in salute as he appeared outside the ED’s office in south Mumbai’s Ballard Estate area after his arrest and on the way to being taken for a medical examination.#WATCH | Mumbai: NCP leader and Maharashtra Minister Nawab Malik being brought out of Enforcement Directorate office, to be taken for medical examination. He has been arrested by Enforcement Directorate in connection with Dawood Ibrahim money laundering case. pic.twitter.com/UMAVK5ZEVW— ANI (@ANI) February 23, 2022The 62-year-old Nationalist Congress Party leader was picked up and brought to the Enforcement Directorate’s office at around 8 am. The agency is recording his statement under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).Malik’s office has tweeted that his son, advocate Amir Malik, is present with him.Today morning the ED had come to @nawabmalikncp saheb's residence. They accompanied saheb in his vehicle to the ED office. Advocate Amir Malik, Saheb's son has accompanied saheb along with.— Office of Nawab Malik (@OfficeofNM) February 23, 2022Indian Express has quoted Maharashtra NCP president Jayant Patil reacting to the news. Patil said that the ED has flouted rules by picking Malik up without prior notice and called this a misuse of power.“Nawab Malik had, in the past, exposed the misdoings of certain people. What has happened today is an attempt to entrap him,” Patil said.Maharashtra Congress president Nana Patole claimed that Malik’s questioning was an act of “revenge” and the need of the hour was to unitedly fight against the tactics to silence political opponents.Talking to reporters here, Patole, whose party shares power with the Shiv Sena and NCP in Maharashtra, said the Congress stood firmly with Malik, who has been raising his voice against the BJP’s “anti-people” policies and “arrogance of power”.Maharashtra has never bowed down before the Centre and it never will, NCP MP Supriya Sule said.The NCP was not surprised by ED’s action, the Lok Sabha member from Maharashtra said, adding it was unfortunate that the Centre was using its machinery against the BJP’s political rivals in a suppressive manner.In the last few months, Malik had taken on former Mumbai Narcotics Control Bureau zonal director Sameer Wankhede in the aftermath of the NCB’s raids on a cruise ship in October and its arrest of 20 people, including Bollywood star Shah Rukh Khan’s son, Aryan.Malik’s son-in-law Sameer Khan was also arrested by the NCB’s Mumbai unit last year.This ED action comes after the registration of a new case and raids conducted by it on February 15 in Mumbai in connection with the operations of the underworld, Ibrahim’s aides, linked alleged illegal property deals and hawala transactions.The searches were conducted at 10 locations, including premises linked to 1993 Mumbai blasts mastermind Dawood Ibrahim’s late sister Haseena Parkar, brother Iqbal Kaskar and Salim Qureshi alias Salim Fruit, brother-in-law of gangster Chhota Shakeel.Kaskar, who was already in jail, has been arrested by the agency last week. It also questioned Salim Qureshi and Parkar’s son.(With PTI inputs)Note: This article, originally published at 11.05 am on February 23, 2022, was republished at 3.21 pm on the same day with the update on Malik’s arrest.