West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday called Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar and expressed support after the arrest of NCP leader and Maharashtra Minister Nawab Malik, who has been sent to Enforcement Directorate custody till March 3.
Banerjee condemned the role of the central agency and strongly protested the arrest of Nawab Malik.
A crucial meeting of senior NCP leaders including Sharad Pawar, and other leaders of the MVA government in Maharashtra took place on Wednesday evening.
A special court remanded the state Minority Affairs Minister to the custody of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) till March 3 in a money-laundering probe linked to the activities of fugitive gangster Dawood Ibrahim and his aides.
Malik was arrested earlier in the day after being questioned for about five hours at the ED office in south Mumbai's Ballard Estate area since around 8 am.
The 62-year-old NCP leader was produced before special Judge RN Rokade, who remanded him in the ED custody for further probe into the matter.
"After the court hearing, Malik was brought to the ED office in Ballard Estate around 9 pm. The minister will have to spent this night at the ED office," the official said.
The senior NCP leader was brought to the central agency's office amid tight security of the CRPF personnel, he said.
While getting down from the vehicle at night, Malik once again waved at media persons, just like he had done in the afternoon after stepping out of the ED office after his questioning.
(With inputs from PTI)
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