Money laundering case: Enforcement Directorate raids SP MLA Irfan Solanki's premises in Kanpur

Lucknow: The Enforcement Directorate on Thursday conducted searches at the premises of Samajwadi Party MLA Irfan Solanki and his family members in Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh, as part of a money laundering investigation, official sources said.

Solanki (44) is currently lodged in the Maharajganj prison and is a four-time MLA from Sisamau assembly seat.

About five premises of Solanki, his jailed brother Rizwan, Shaukat Ali, Hazi Wasi, Noori Shaukat and some others in Kanpur and a premises in Mumbai in Maharashtra were raided early morning along with a security escort of Central Reserve Police Force personnel, the sources said.

The action is being taken after the ED filed a criminal case against Solanki and others under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) based on multiple FIRs filed against them by the Uttar Pradesh Police, they said.

The MLA from the SP, led by former chief minister Akhilesh Yadav, has been lodged in the Maharajganj prison since December 2022 in connection with several criminal cases.

Solanki and Rizwan were arrested by police earlier for allegedly harassing a woman and setting her house on fire in a bid to grab her plot. They later surrendered before police.

Solanki and Rizwan, along with three others, were booked under the Uttar Pradesh Gangsters and Anti-Social Activities (Prevention) Act by police.