TMC MP-Linked Urdu Newspaper Under ED Scanner, Raids Conducted in 3 Cities

The Enforcement Directorate on Monday carried out searches at multiple locations in Kolkata, Delhi and Ranchi as part of an investigation involving an Urdu newspaper promoted by Trinamool Congress Rajya Sabha MP Nadimul Haque, officials said.

The agency conducted searches at around seven premises connected to the case, marking a major development in the ongoing probe.

Haque is the director of the company that publishes the Urdu daily Akhbar-E-Mashriq. According to officials, the investigation concerns allegations that material published and circulated through the newspaper promoted communal disharmony.

The probe is also examining alleged unaccounted cash transactions and funding received from sources suspected to be dubious, officials said.

The searches were conducted under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), as the agency seeks to trace the flow of funds and establish the circumstances surrounding the alleged transactions.

The case originates from an FIR registered by the Bidhannagar Police Commissionerate, following which the financial probe was taken up by the ED.

Officials said the searches covered locations in three cities as investigators examined documents and other material that could shed light on the financial dealings and activities under scrutiny.