ED attaches assets worth Rs 2.58 crore in bribery case against Himachal drug official

The Enforcement Directorate has attached assets worth Rs 2.58 crore belonging to Himachal Assistant Drug Controller Nishant Sareen and his associate in a money-laundering probe linked to bribery, forgery, extortion, and disproportionate assets. The cumulative seized assets now stand at Rs 5.78 crore

New Delhi: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has provisionally attached two immovable properties, worth Rs 2.58 crore, under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) in a case linked to bribery, corruption, forgery, and disproportionate assets involving Himachal Pradesh’s Assistant Drug Controller, Nishant Sareen, and his associate Komal Khanna.

The attached assets include a residential flat in Sector-20, Panchkula (Haryana), and a residential building in Shimla.

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The money-laundering probe stems from an FIR registered by the Himachal Pradesh State Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau (SV&ACB) under Section 11 of the Prevention of Corruption Act against Sareen, who was then posted as Assistant Drug Controller in Baddi. The vigilance agency arrested him and filed a charge sheet 2021 against him and Khanna.

In 2022, the Haryana Police registered another FIR against the duo and others for alleged extortion, intimidation, and forgery of a partnership deed of Zhenia Pharmaceuticals, Panchkula. Investigators found that Khanna’s partnership share was fraudulently increased from 50 per cent to 95 per cent, allegedly using Sareen’s influence.

A third FIR (No. 08/2025), registered in September this year by SV&ACB, accused Sareen of possessing disproportionate assets worth Rs 1.66 crore during his tenure as Drug Inspector/Assistant Drug Controller at various postings across Nahan, Baddi, and Solan.

According to the ED, Sareen used his official position to extract illegal gratification from pharmaceutical manufacturers and distributors. Several pharma companies were allegedly coerced under threats into conducting business at heavy losses with Zhenia Pharmaceuticals and Nia Pharma, both controlled by Khanna.

The agency’s probe found that the proceeds of crime were diverted into personal assets, bank deposits, and real-estate holdings in the names of Khanna and members of Sareen’s family.

In June 2025, the ED conducted searches in the case, seizing incriminating documents, jewellery, vehicles, and freezing bank balances amounting to around Rs 3.20 crore. With the latest attachment, the cumulative value of seized/attached assets in the case has risen to Rs 5.78 crore.

Sareen, arrested by the ED on October 9 this year, is currently in judicial custody. Further investigation is underway.