18-hour ED raid at BJP leader Niti Sen Bhatia's residence in Haryana concludes 

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) team concluded a raid at the residence of senior BJP leader Niti Sen Bhatia in Model Town after 18 hours.

The team left the premises at around 12:20 a.m., taking away records of all properties, vehicles, and other goods.

The ED team began the raid at around 6:30 a.m. on Thursday morning. The raid was reportedly linked to a money laundering probe. Simultaneously, the ED also raided Vidit Health Care, a pharmaceutical firm in Paonta Sahib owned by Bhatia’s younger son, Neeraj Bhatia.

The ED team, accompanied by CRPF personnel, arrived at Niti Sen Bhatia’s residence in the early hours of Thursday in three vehicles. Security personnel were stationed at all three entry points of the house while the team conducted searches. Upon hearing about the raid, former Karnal MP Sanjay Bhatia, a close relative of Niti Sen Bhatia, visited the house.

After the raid concluded, former MP Sanjay Bhatia told the media that it was a routine ED check-up, and they had checked what they had information about. They made a list of the goods in the house and were satisfied with the records, he said. It was a normal procedure, and nothing serious was found.

They acted according to their due course of law. There was no tension among the family members during the raid, former MP Bhatia said. The team also inquired at the factory in Ponta Sahib in Himachal Pradesh and had checked the factory earlier, he said. “If the team comes again, the family is ready to support in all ways. After getting information of the raid, I reached home because Niti Sen Bhatia is very elderly and has problems with his sight, and only two women were at home. The raid is concluded, and the team went away,” former MP Sanjay Bhatia said.

Earlier, the ED officials brought in a mechanic to unlock an almirah inside the house and thoroughly searched the cars parked within and outside the premises. The team also examined the rooftop, flower pots, and the generator set for possible evidence. Niti Sen Bhatia’s elder son, Navin Bhatia, has filed his nomination for the mayoral post in the upcoming Panipat civic body elections. His claim is considered strong among BJP aspirants, though the party is yet to finalise its candidates. Notably, his younger son, Neeraj Bhatia, was arrested by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB), Jammu, in August last year under the NDPS Act. The arrest was linked to an illegal sale of codeine-based cough syrup, following an NCB case registered on January 14. During the raid last year, the NCB had seized 33.98 kg of codeine-based cough syrup, 900 alprazolam tablets, 56 tramadol capsules, 210 lorazepam tablets, 570 clobazam tablets, and Rs 15.03 lakh in cash from Neeraj Bhatia’s residence and that of his associate in Delhi. However, he has since been released on bail by the Jammu and Kashmir High Court. Niti Sen Bhatia is one of Panipat’s senior-most BJP leaders. He served as chairman of the Municipal Committee in 1987 and contested Assembly elections twice, in 1991 and 1996, though unsuccessfully. He was also the BJP’s district president.