ED detain Hasan Ali Khan in Black Money case

Hasan Ali Khan, the Pune stud farm owner facing charges of huge money laundering and tax evasion, was taken into custody by the Enforcement Directorate after a day-long search of his premises by its officials on Monday. About a dozen ED officials from Mumbai came down to Pune to search Khan premises in posh Koregaon Park area, a little distance away from the landmark German Bakery. Khan was picked up in the afternoon and driven away, presumably to Mumbai, for interrogation. There was no official word from the ED and media persons waiting outside Khan's residence were not briefed about the operations. Clad in white kurta and wearing sunglasses, Khan was seen inside a black Mercedes that left the Tulip bungalow located in Valentine Residential Society escorted by ED sleuths in two cars.
Khan's detention came a day before the Supreme Court's 8th March deadline to the government to inform it how it proposed to tackle black money hoarders. The apex court while blasting the Centre last Thursday for not having the "will power" to act against black money hoarders asked why Khan and others were not subjected to custodial interrogation despite the probe agencies possessing sufficient material against them. Meanwhile, his lawyer R K Gaur said Khan has not been detained and that he was being taken to the ED's office as part of a "routine investigation". "Hasan Ali Khan has not been detained till now. He has been taken to the investigative agency's office. This is a routine investigation. It happens in all cases. The ED searched his premises and now has taken him to its office," he Gaur said.