Shimla, June 26 (UNI) The Enforcement Directorate (ED) claims to have unearthed an alarming web of financial irregularities, political shielding, and possible regulatory collusion linked to Assistant Drug Controller Nishant Sareen, currently posted in Dharamshala.

The ED’s raids on June 22-23 across Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, and Haryana revealed a lifestyle that starkly contrasts with a public servant’s declared means.

Two luxury cars valued at Rs 32 lakh, over 40 bank accounts and FDRs, three bank lockers, and more than 60 bottles of high-end liquor were seized or frozen. The searches also uncovered official documents -- drug licences, show-cause notices, and approval letters — along with digital devices, pointing to misuse of power, ED sources said.

The operation, launched under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), is based on a 2019 FIR by Himachal's Vigilance Bureau when Sareen was ADC in Baddi. He was arrested and later granted bail. However, the state government posted him again at a sensitive post in Kangra district in 2024.

Another FIR registered in Haryana in 2022 accuses Sareen and his associate Komal Khanna of forging pharmaceutical partnership documents and threatening co-partners, revealing a disturbing pattern of intimidation and exploitation of office, ED sources said.

They said interlinked financial transactions between Sareen’s family and pharma firms are now under ED scrutiny.

Last week, the Himachal High Court sought a government response over Sareen’s appointment after a PIL questioned his suitability for a sensitive role given his "tainted record".

UNI ML PRS