Mumbai, Mar 3

A special court here on Thursday extended the ED custody of Maharashtra Minority Affairs Minister Nawab Malik till March 7 in a money-laundering probe linked to the activities of fugitive gangster Dawood Ibrahim and his aides.

Malik was arrested on February 23 after being questioned for about five hours at the Enforcement Directorate’s (ED) office in south Mumbai.

He was produced before special court judge RN Rokade at the end of his initial remand on Thursday.

The court extended his custody till March 7 for further probe into the case.

Considering the fact that the accused was in hospital from February 25 to 28 (during his previous ED custody) and also new facts have emerged during investigation, the accused is being sent to further custody, the court said.

The ED’s case is based on an FIR filed recently by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) against Dawood Ibrahim and others. The NIA had filed its criminal complaint under sections of the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA).