BJP leader Mohit Kamboj on Saturday held a press conference and claimed that a false narrative is being portrayed in the Aryan Khan drugs case.
Kamboj alleged that a man named Sunil Patil is the mastermind of the whole conspiracy. "Patil is associated with NCP for the last 20 years. He is a friend of ex-home minister Anil Deshmukh's son Hrishikesh," he claimed.
He also claimed that Sunil Patil gave NCB witness Kiran Gosavi's number to businessman Sam D'Souza and told them that Gosavi will co-ordinate with the NCB. Kamboj said that Patil has strategised to trap NCB officers in the case.
NCP National Spokesperson and Minority Affairs Minister Nawab Malik had earlier said that a total of 11 persons were detained after drug bust on the Cordelia cruise ship off Mumbai coast. However, three of them including Rishabh Sachdeva, the brother-in-law of a BJP leader Mohit Bharatiya (formerly, Kamboj) were later released.
"The NCB must reply why they were released from detention," Malik had demanded.
Who is Mohit Kamboj aka Mohit 'Bharatiya'?
Kamboj is the owner of a private conglomerate firm- KBJ Group and his businesses are spread across various sectors such as entertainment, bullion jewellery, real estate, and hospitality.
Kamboj's claim to fame was in 2019 when he changed his surname to Bharatiya. According to reports, he changed his surname in order to inspire people to rise above caste, creed, religion and other factors that cause division in society.
"I have changed my surname to Bharatiya and this will be my identity henceforth," he told PTI.
He was formerly the president of Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM) Mumbai. From 2012 to 2019, he was also the national president of Indian Bullion and Jewellery Association (IBJA).
Earlier in 2020, Kamboj was booked by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) for alleged criminal conspiracy, cheating and forgery pertaining to a loan of Rs 67 crore from the Bank of India.
The state-run Bank of India had claimed that borrowers and guarantors allegedly committed misappropriation of public funds, fraud, cheating and forgery in connivance with its officials who "abused their official position" in appraisal, sanction, disbursement, declaration of account as fraud and sanctioning one time settlement (OTS) with the company, they said.
The CBI carried out searches at five locations in Mumbai at the residential and official premises of the accused, including Kamboj, officials said.
The bank had alleged that Kamboj was guarantor and managing director in Avyan Overseas Pvt Ltd, engaged in manufacturing and export of handcrafted gold jewellery to Dubai, Singapore, Hong Kong and other countries.
He, however, denied the allegations stating that all his dues were cleared.
(With inputs from agencies)
