Panipat: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) raided the residence of BJP politician Niti Sen Bhatia at Model Town here on Thursday in connection with suspected money laundering activities related to his pharmaceutical business.
The ED team arrived at 8 am and questioned Bhatia and his nephew, former Karnal MP Sanjay Bhatia. The officers, along with a mechanic, broke open a locked cabinet and examined documents from two vehicles parked at the house. The team also searched the rooftop area, inspecting plants and generators.
The ED also raided Bhatia’s pharmaceutical company, Vidit Healthcare, located in Paonta Sahib, Himachal Pradesh. Nitisen’s sons, Naveen and Neeraj, were present during the search.
Naveen is one of the contestants for the upcoming municipal corporation elections.
The investigation stems from allegations that the company was involved in illegal manufacture of cough syrup. The ED suspects the Bhatia family used the proceeds from these illicit activities to acquire multiple properties.
In Aug 2024, the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) arrested Bhatia’s son Neeraj, who was then president of Sirmaur Drug Manufacturing Association. It was then revealed that Vidit Healthcare, a codeine syrup manufacturing firm, was involved in illegal marketing of the syrup. The company was run by Neeraj and Naveen. During its raid, the NCB attained 33.980 kg of codeine, 900 pills of alprazolam, 56 capsules of tramadol, 210 pills of lorazepam, 570 pills of clobazam, along with Rs 15 lakh from Bhatia and his colleague’s residence in Delhi.
A case of money laundering had been filed against the Bhatia family.
On Dec 7, 2024, the ED asked Sirmaur deputy commissioner to provide a description of properties owned by Vidit Healthcare and five others under the acts of PMLA. The suspected properties included those of Neeraj, his wife Mehak, and Vidit Healthcare’s property in Kishanpura village as Vidit is co-owned by multiple partners.
The investigation revealed significant land holdings registered under Neeraj and Naveen’s names, with a total of 163,080 square feet of land linked to Vidit Healthcare.
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