Mumbai: The Enforcement Directorate on Friday questioned Congress leader Baba Siddique in connection with the case it registered against him last month. Mr Siddique and others were booked under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) in connection with the redevelopment of a plot in Bandra, and had conducted searches at his office and residence on June 1.
Sources in the ED said Mr. Siddique reached the ED office around 11 a.m. “We had recovered documents during our searches, and we questioned him based on these documents and our investigation. He was allowed to leave after a detailed statement was recorded,” an officer said. Mr. Siddique left the ED office around 7 p.m., and is likely to be summoned again after other people named in the case are questioned.
The case pertains to the redevelopment of the Jamaat-e-Jamooria slums in Bandra in 2012 under the Slum Rehabilatation Authority (SRA) scheme. A seven-building project was planned at Bandra Reclamation to rehabilitate slum residents. Later that year, a slum resident approached court alleging irregularities in construction and allotment of flats.
The Bandra police filed an FIR against Mr. Siddique on the court’s instructions, and the ED initiated its inquiries when the police investigation indicated presence of black money and movement of funds through offshore accounts.
