40 accounts, 60 booze bottles seized from Himachal Pradesh drug controller

NEW DELHI: ED Thursday said it had seized 60 liquor bottles, cars and details of at least 40 bank accounts operated by additional drug controller of Dharamshala, Nishant Sareen , and his associates during searches on his premises on June 22-23 in a money laundering case .

ED has accused the officer of taking bribes from pharmaceutical companies by threatening them with actions. Sareen was arrested earlier for corruption when he was additional drug controller of Baddi in Himachal Pradesh but reinstated by the Congress govt last year as drug controller of Dharamshala after his release on bail.

ED is probing complaints of extortion by Sareen in his present role as ADC, Dharamshala and interconnected financial transactions between his family members and pharmaceutical companies.

ED said it seized documents of drug licences, show cause notices, clearances issued to pharma firms, property-related papers and digital devices. "Two vehicles worth Rs 32 lakh, more than 40 bank accounts/FDRs and threelockers belonging to Sareen and his family and 60 unaccounted liquor bottles werealso seized," ED said. tnn