Mumbai: The Maha Vikas Aghadi partners – the NCP, Shiv Sena and the Congress -- have slammed the Narcotics Control Bureau and its zonal director, Sameer Wankhede, after a witness claimed pay-off to the latter in the Mumbai cruise drug case. They have demanded that the state government immediately institute an inquiry and punish the culprits.
NCP Minister Nawab Malik, who has been firing salvos against the NCB and Wankhede, on Sunday took to social media to write ‘truth prevails’, after an independent NCB witness alleged a pay-off of Rs 8 crore to Wankhede. Malik, who has been relentlessly exposing the nexus between the NCB and the BJP in the Aryan Khan arrest case, wrote in Hindi, “Satya Hi Jitega, Satyamev Jayate (Truth will win, truth prevails).”
Malik said in the wake of the new twist, he would meet Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray to demand an SIT (special investigation team) probe. “We will meet the chief minister and home minister. This will be probed through an SIT. An organised crime was executed for a year in this city, crores of rupees were collected,” he added.
“Two cases are open and not even one arrest has been made in a year. People were being called and money was being collected from them. False cases were being raised. If probed, there will be more revelations. We will demand a SIT probe for this,” he avowed.
State NCP chief and Water Resources Minister Jayant Patil led a blistering attack against the NCB and the BJP. Patil said that the reality was now starting to unfold before the people. He said the BJP leaders were at the forefront during the arrest of Aryan Khan from the Cordelia Cruises off the Mumbai coast on October 3.
“If such a huge sum of money is being demanded, then many people are likely to be involved in this,” he added. Patil further slammed the BJP for “misusing central agencies and extorting money from the people,” he said.
Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut tweeted a video of Shah Rukh Khan’s son Aryan talking to KP Gosavi -- the alleged private investigator, and panch/witness in the Mumbai cruise drug case. He said, “Witness in #AryanKhan case made to sign on a blank piece of paper by the NCB is shocking. Also, there are reports that there was a demand for huge sum of money. CM Uddhav Thackeray said that these cases are made to defame Maharashtra. This seems to be coming true. Home Minister Dilip Walse Patil should take suo moto cognizance.”
State Congress chief Nana Patole asserted that the state government should take a serious note of this matter and conduct a high-level inquiry. “In the last few days, especially since the formation of the Maha Vikas Aghadi government in the state, the misuse of Central government agencies has been rampant. The ED, CBI and income-tax seem to be a well-planned plot to defame Maharashtra by targeting opposition leaders. Looking at the NCB’s actions in the last few days, it appears to be part of the same conspiracy,” he claimed.
Congress leader Sachin Sawant made a fresh appeal to the MVA government for a thorough inquiry. “My earlier demand with the MVA government to investigate is still pending. All the NCB officials involved in the raid are liable for action under section 59 of NDPS Act. The video put out by Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut on Twitter shows that the security of the accused was compromised. Today’s revelation has hugely damaged the reputation of NCB,” he added.
Malik had earlier alleged that the NCB had ‘mala fide intentions’ and was involved in ‘selective leaks’ to frame people. He had also said that the cruise drug case was ‘fake’ and arrests had been made just on the basis of WhatsApp chats. He had also alleged collusion between the BJP and the NCB and said that all the seizures and arrests were made to obtain publicity.
Last week, Malik had accused Wankhede of ‘extortion’. He released some photographs of Wankhede and his sister Jasmeen Wankhede, claiming that they were in the Maldives, along with other celebrities during the Covid-19 period.
