Chhagan, Sameer Bhujbal's judicial custody extended till May 25

Mumbai:  The special PMLA court on Wednesday extended the judicial custody of Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader and former Maharashtra minister Chhagan Bhujbal and his nephew Sameer Bhujbal, presently in prison on charges of money laundering, till May 25. The Enforcement Directorate had last week arrested Chhagan Bhujbal's associate and chartered accountant Sunil Naik in connection with the case. The special PMLA court had earlier issued a non-bailable warrant against Naik, who was the CA at Bhujbal- owned Mumbai Education Trust (MET) at Bandra. The Enforcement Directorate is probing Bhujbal, his son Pankaj and nephew Sameer in the case concerning a contract the former allegedly gave a builder in 2005 without inviting tenders when he was the state's PWD minister. Earlier, a special trial court issued a non-bailable warrant against Pankaj Bhujbal and 28 others accused in a Rs. 800 crore money laundering case. The Maharashtra Anti-Corruption Bureau had earlier filed two FIRs against the Bhujbals and others under the provisions of the PMLA to probe the Delhi-based Maharashtra Sadan scam and the Kalina land grabbing case.