ED raids multiple places linked to gangster-turned-MLA Mukhtar Ansari in UP, Delhi

New Delhi, Aug 18: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Thursday conducted raids at multiple locations in Uttar Pradesh and Delhi as part of a money laundering investigation against mafia-turned-politician Mukhtar Ansari, official sources said.

The searches are being conducted at premises located in Ghazipur, Lucknow and Delhi which are linked to Ansari and his alleged associates, they said.

The action is aimed to gather evidence with regard to an ongoing investigation against Ansari under the criminal sections of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), the sources said.

Ansari, a five-time former MLA, is currently lodged in jail at Banda in Uttar Pradesh.

He is under the ED scanner in connection with at least 49 criminal cases booked against him including those on charges of land grabbing, murder and extortion.

He faces trial in Uttar Pradesh in several cases, including attempt to murder and murder.

The Ghazipur district administration last week had seized two plots of land, measuring 1.901 hectares and valued at over Rs 6 crore, that were purchased using alleged illegal earnings of Ansari, according to police.