ED's plea to question Hasan Ali deferred

Mumbai: A sessions court on Monday deferred the plea of Enforcement Directorate (ED), seeking permission to question Pune-based stud farm owner Hasan Ali Khan for three days in a case of alleged money laundering, till June

17.

Khan, who is in judicial custody in connection with money-laundering and tax evasion, is currently admitted to St George Hospital for treatment.

In a separate development, the ED told the court that it had gone to Khan's residence at Pedder Road in South Mumbai on Saturday to carry out searches but could not find anything as no one, except Khan's cook, was present in the house.

ED also requested the court that it be allowed to question Khan for three days as it needed to trace the source of funds in his possession while complaining that Khan was not cooperating in the case.

Meanwhile, the bail petition of Khan was deferred to June 17 by Principal Judge, Swapna Joshi, as the government has yet to appoint prosecutor in this case.

ED informed that it had instructed Ujjwal Nikam to appear as a special public prosecutor in the case adding that the government would soon come out with a notification in this regard.

Meanwhile, Nikam, who appeared on ED's instructions, urged the court to adjourn the hearing to enable the government to issue a notification of his appointment as special public prosecutor. Thereupon, the court adjourned the matter to June 17.

Accused of money laundering and multi-crore tax evasion, Khan is also facing criminal cases under the Passport Act for allegedly possessing six passports from different parts of India.