ED raids Himachal Pradesh assistance drug controller for bribery, extortion

NEW DELHI: Enforcement Directorate on Sunday conducted searches against a Himachal Pradesh assistant drug controller, Nishant Sareen, in bribery and extortion cases linked to the charge of him misusing his official position.

The anti-money laundering agency is also probing "political patronage" to Sareen who after being removed as Baddi assistant drug controller on allegations of bribery in 2019 was reinstated and posted by the new Himachal Pradesh govt as Dharamshala assistant drug controller in 2024.

In Oct 25, 2019, he was released on bail in the Baddi corruption case in which trial is pending. The State Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau and police had filed a chargesheet under the Prevention of Corruption Act in this case and arrested him in Sept 2019. Sareen was accused of receiving bribes from pharmaceutical companies based in Baddi, a pharma hub in the state.

Komal Khanna, an associate of Sareen, was also accused of corruption and was made an accused in the chargesheet. Five residential and commercial premises linked to Sareen, his father-in-law Ramesh Kumar Gupta and Khanna in Himachal Pradesh, Haryana and Punjab were searched on Sunday.

ED is probing allegations of political patronage and complaints of extortion and bribery against Sareen in his present role as Dharamshala assistant drug controller too, sources said.