NEW DELHI: Enforcement Directorate on Sunday performed searches in opposition to a Himachal Pradesh assistant drug controller, Nishant Sareen, in bribery and extortion instances linked to the cost of him misusing his official place.The anti-money laundering company can be probing “political patronage” to Sareen who after being eliminated as Baddi assistant drug controller on allegations of bribery in 2019 was reinstated and posted by the brand new Himachal Pradesh govt as Dharamshala assistant drug controller in 2024.In Oct 25, 2019, he was launched on bail within the Baddi corruption case by which trial is pending. The State Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau and police had filed a chargesheet underneath the Prevention of Corruption Act on this case and arrested him in Sept 2019. Sareen was accused of receiving bribes from pharmaceutical firms primarily based in Baddi, a pharma hub within the state.Komal Khanna, an affiliate of Sareen, was additionally accused of corruption and was made an accused within the chargesheet. 5 residential and business premises linked to Sareen, his father-in-law Ramesh Kumar Gupta and Khanna in Himachal Pradesh, Haryana and Punjab have been searched on Sunday.ED is probing allegations of political patronage and complaints of extortion and bribery in opposition to Sareen in his current function as Dharamshala assistant drug controller too, sources mentioned.