ED raids Himachal Assistant Drug Controller
Shimla: In a sweeping crackdown, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) has conducted searches against a Himachal Pradesh-based Assistant Drug Controller (ADC), his family members, and several others. The raids are part of an ongoing money laundering investigation linked to charges of bribery, and political patronage, official sources said.
Five residential and commercial premises across Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, and Punjab were searched as part of the operation.
The action is taken against Nishant Sareen, currently posted as ADC Dharamshala, along with his father-in-law Ramesh Kumar Gupta and an alleged associate, Komal Khanna apart from some others, PTI reported.
The money laundering case filed under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) stems from a 2019 FIR registered by the State Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau (SV&ACB) of the Himachal Pradesh Police against Sareen. The FIR was filed during Sareen's tenure as ADC in Baddi—one of India’s major pharmaceutical hubs. He was arrested in September 2019, and later chargesheeted him along with Khanna. Then released on bail a month later, and despite the charges, was appointed as ADC Dharamshala in 2024.
Sareen, during the Himachal Police investigation, faced charges of receiving bribe from pharmaceutical companies based in Baddi, a pharma hub in the state.
The ED is now looking into the misuse of official position, not only during his posting in Baddi but also in his current role.
The central agency, according to the sources, is also investigating the alleged generation of proceeds of crime in this case apart from charges of “political patronage and complaints of extortion and bribe” against Sareen.
The office of the drug controller is part of the directorate of health safety and regulation of the HP government
