News Analysis India

Tag: Nawab Malik

  • Need to unitedly fight against tactics to silence opponents: Maharashtra Congress as ED questions Nawab Malik

    By PTI

    MUMBAI: Maharashtra Congress president Nana Patole on Wednesday claimed that state minister and NCP leader Nawab Malik’s questioning by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) was an act of “revenge” and the need of the hour was to unitedly fight against the tactics to silence political opponents.

    Talking to reporters here, Patole, whose party shares power with the Shiv Sena and NCP in Maharashtra, said the Congress stood firmly with Malik, who has been raising his voice against the BJP’s “anti-people” policies and “arrogance of power”.

    “We will discuss such actions by central probe agencies and unitedly fight against the tactics to silence political. opponents,” the Congress leader said.

    He also accused the BJP of maligning Maharashtra for the sake of power.

    The Shiv Sena, NCP and Congress had in 2019 joined hands to form the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government led by Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray in the state.

    The ED on Wednesday questioned Maharashtra Minority Affairs Minister and NCP’s chief spokesperson Malik in a money laundering probe linked to the activities of the Mumbai underworld, fugitive gangster Dawood Ibrahim and his aides, officials said.

    Meanwhile, BJP state president Chandrakant Patil told reporters in Pune that if leaders of the NCP and other MVA constituents think that the ED’s action against Nawab Malik is misuse of power, they can approach court to seek justice.

    “We (BJP) have been subjected to injustice for the last 27 months (by the state government), but when our 12 MLAs were suspended, we went to court and got justice. Similarly, if they think that victimisation is happening, they should approach the court,” he said.

    Patil said when former state home minister and NCP leader Anil Deshmukh was arrested (by the ED in a money laundering case), there was a similar outcry, but it later died down.

    The BJP leader also claimed that Deshmukh had said “if he (Deshmukh) opens his mouth, it will cost (MVA) dearly.”

    Earlier in the day, NCP chief Sharad Pawar said Malik is being troubled because he spoke against the Union government and “misuse” of central probe agencies.

    “Which case have they dug up? It is simple. They take the name of Dawood, especially if there is a Muslim activist (against whom a case is dug up)…There is no relation (between the activist concerned and underworld), but it is done,” Pawar said.

    Reacting to Pawar’s comments, Patil accused the NCP chief of fanning casteism.

    “Sometimes he does that between Marathas and non-Marathas, sometimes he does that between minorities and non-minorities. But, people know this kind of (Pawar’s) politics which is going on for the last 50 years. The non-Muslim communities know this and they will not take it seriously,” he said.

  • Maharashtra won’t bow down before Centre: Supriya Sule on ED questioning Nawab Malik

    By PTI

    MUMBAI: Maharashtra has never bowed down before the Centre and it never will, NCP MP Supriya Sule said on Wednesday after the ED questioned state minister and her party leader Nawab Malik in a money laundering case.

    The NCP was not surprised by the Enforcement Directorate’s (ED) action, the Lok Sabha member from Maharashtra said, adding it was unfortunate that the Centre was using its machinery against the BJP’s political rivals in a “suppressive” manner.

    “It was expected, Nawab Bhai too had expected this. He had also tweeted in the past that he would keep tea and biscuits ready if the ED officials arrived at his home. Had they issued a notice (to Malik), they would have also got breakfast before leaving (Malik’s residence). But they did not issue a notice,” Sule told a TV channel.

    Sule, who is the daughter of NCP chief Sharad Pawar, claimed the ED’s notice is issued only to opposition leaders.

    “Once you quit your own party and join them, then the notice disappears or goes into a shredder. We should know which shredder is this,” she said sarcastically without taking any name.

    Sule also claimed that “people in a certain party” know in advance if a leader is going to be raided or arrested.

    The Lok Sabha member said BJP leaders use Twitter very well to comment about the central agency’s action.

    “They are doing this now, but life is a full circle,” she said.

    “We are brought up in the culture of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. Maharashtra has never bowed down before the Centre and Delhi, it never will,” she added.

    The ED on Wednesday questioned Maharashtra Minority Affairs Minister and NCP’s chief spokesperson Malik in a money laundering probe linked to the activities of the Mumbai underworld, fugitive gangster Dawood Ibrahim and his aides, officials said.

    The probe agency’s move comes after registration of a new case and raids conducted by it on February 15 in Mumbai in connection with the operations of the underworld, linked to alleged illegal property deals and hawala transactions.

  • Nawab Malik says NCB wants to take over ‘top five’ drug cases from Maharashtra police, questions motive

    By PTI

    MUMBAI: Maharashtra minister Nawab Malik on Friday said the NCB has asked the state police’s Anti Narcotics Cell (ANC) to transfer its “top five cases” to the central agency, and questioned the Union government’s intentions.

    The Narcotics Control Bureau’s (NCB) letter to the ANC attributed the decision to Union Home Minister Amit Shah, he claimed in a video shared on social media.

    He also shared the text of the purported letter.

    NCB Director General S N Pradhan wrote to Maharashtra Director General of Police on November 24 asking for a list of five cases fit to be handed over to the NCB, said the senior NCP leader.

    The letter sought that state governments prepare lists of cases having “inter-state and international” ramifications and consider handing them over to the NCB to help it unearth entire networks, he said.

    “We want to know what is the criteria for (selecting) top five cases. Are they the ones which garnered a lot of publicity?” Malik said.

    Why the rights of the states were being infringed upon in this manner despite there being no provision in the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act for such a take-over, he asked.

    “Is there an ulterior motive? NCB must answer the citizens of India,” Malik, who has been attacking the Central agency on a host of issues centering on the arrest of Aryan Khan in an alleged drugs case, tweeted.

  • Bombay HC quashes order that refused to restrain Nawab Malik from tweeting against Wankhedes

    By PTI

    MUMBAI: The Bombay High Court on Monday quashed and set aside the order of a single bench of the HC that had refused to restrain Maharashtra minister Nawab Malik from making public statements against the Narcotics Control Bureau’s (NCB) zonal director Sameer Wankhede and his family.

    A division bench of Justices S J Kathawalla and Milind Jadhav quashed and set aside the order after Malik and Wankhede’s father Dnyandev consented that the single bench order be recalled and Dnyandev’s grievances against the minister, raised through an interim application on his defamation suit filed against Malik, be heard afresh by the HC.

    On November 22, a single bench of Justice Madhav Jamdar held that though Malik’s tweets against Wankhede, particularly those pertaining to allegations of the NCB officer having submitted a false caste certificate to secure the central government job and having accepted illegal gratification while on duty, had stemmed out of malice, the minister couldn’t be completely prohibited from making comments against a public officer.

    Dnyandev then challenged the singe bench order.

    While hearing the appeal last week, a division bench of Justices S J Kathawalla and Milind Jadhav held that Malik’s statements and tweets against Wankhede did seem to be a clear case of malice and logically, he should be restrained from making such comments.

    The bench had also asked if it behoved the minister to make such comments without due verification and why he hadn’t first approached the caste scrutiny committee with a formal complaint against Wankhede? Malik then proposed that the single bench order be recalled.

    His counsel Karl Tamboly told the HC that Malik will consent to quashing of the order, he will file a detailed reply to Dnyandev’s interim application, and he will not make public statements or tweets against the Wankhedes until further hearing.

    He sought that Dnyandev’s application be heard afresh by the single bench.

    On Monday, senior counsel Birendra Saraf, who appeared for Dnyandev, told the division bench that his client had consented to the quashing of the November 22 order.

    “The court can say by consent of parties (quashing of the order),” Saraf said.

    The division bench permitted Malik to file a fresh reply affidavit to Dnyandev’s interim application that seeks, among other things, that until his suit is heard finally, the minister be restrained from making defamatory statements against him and his family.

    Malik will submit his reply by December 9.

    Dnyandev will then file his rejoinder responding to Malik’s affidavit by January 3.

    The single bench of Justice Madhav Jamdar will then hear the interim application afresh and complete the hearing within 13 weeks, the division bench said.

    Until the hearing on the interim application is complete, Malik will not make any public statements or tweets against the Wankhedes, the division bench said.

    “The statement by respondent (Malik on not tweeting or making public statements against the Wankhedes) shall continue pending disposal of final order on the interim application,” the bench led by Justice Kathawalla said.

    Malik has levelled a string of allegations against Sameer Wankhede after he led a drug bust raid on a cruise ship last month following which actor Shah Rukh Khan’s son Aryan Khan and some other people were arrested.

    The minister had alleged that Wakhede was born a Muslim, but falsely claimed to belong to a designated scheduled caste to secure his central government job.

    Wankhede has denied the allegations.

  • Nawab Malik’s tweets against Sameer Wankhede stem from malice but no blanket gag order: HC

    Besides, Wankhede was a government officer and some of the allegations made against him by Malik were related to the discharge of his public duty, the HC noted.

  • After HC’s detailed order in Aryan Khan case comes out, Nawab Malik seeks action against Sameer Wankhede

    By PTI

    MUMBAI: Maharashtra minister Nawab Malik on Saturday said the detailed order of the Bombay High Court on Aryan Khan’s bail application corroborated his claim that the drugs case against Khan and others was bogus.

    Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) zonal director Sameer Wankhede should be suspended following the court’s findings, he said.

    Malik has been targeting Wankhede ever since the NCB official led a raid on a cruise ship off the Mumbai coast on October 2 during which drugs were allegedly seized and Aryan Khan, Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan’s son, was arrested.

    ALSO READ | No positive evidence to show Aryan Khan, 2 others conspired to commit drug-related offences: Bombay HC

    While Aryan got bail on October 28, the detailed order became available on Saturday.

    Malik said in a statement that the order puts a question mark on the NCB’s arrest of Aryan Khan.

    He also reiterated his allegation that Aryan was kidnapped for the purpose of extortion.

    Wankhede had moved the high court when actor Rhea Chakraborty was granted bail by the lower court in an alleged drugs case last year, and the NCB officer would move the Supreme Court in Aryan’s case now, the minister alleged .

    “Such wastage of public funds should stop,” he said.

    When contacted, Sameer Wankhede said he can not comment on the high court’s order as the matter was sub-judice (before a court).

    The officer also said he did not want to give importance to Malik’s allegations.

    As per the detailed order of Justice N W Sambre on bail pleas of Aryan Khan, his friend Arbaaz Merchant and fashion model Munmun Dhamecha, WhatsApp chats extracted from Aryan’s phone showed that nothing objectionable was noticed to suggest that he and others had hatched any conspiracy.

    “There is hardly any positive evidence on record to convince this court that all the accused persons with common intention agreed to commit unlawful acts,” the court said.

  • Nawab Malik seeks action against NCB’s Sameer Wankhede after HC verdict on Aryan Khan case

    By Express News Service

    MUMBAI: After the release of Bombay High Court’s detailed bail order in the Aryan Khan drug case, NCP minister Nawab Malik on Saturday demanded immediate suspension of former NCB zonal director Sameer Wankhede for “framing” Khan and other accused.

    ​ALSO READ | No positive evidence to show Aryan Khan, 2 others conspired to commit drug-related offences: Bombay HC

    Malik said that since day one he has been telling that the case is nothing but well-orchestrated plan to frame Aryan Khan and others by Sameer Wankhede and his “private army”. Malik said the court’s detailed bail order proved it was a “kidnapping and ransom” incident.

    “It was a pre-planned plot but one selfie by KP Gosavi spoiled their plan of extortion. The fraudulent plan of Sameer Wankhede and his people has been exposed in broad daylight now,” Malik added. Malik said that despite this “crystal clear” court order, if BJP leaders are trying to protect Wankhede, it will prove the  BJP is behind him in framing innocent people in drug cases.

  • Nawab Malik shares WhatsApp chat between Kiran Gosavi, Kashiff Khan; asks why no action being taken

    By ANI

    MUMBAI: Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Nawab Malik on Tuesday shared a screenshot of a purported Whatsapp chat between the witness in drugs on cruise case KP Gosavi and an informer that contains the name of Kashiff Khan, on his official Twitter handle and questioned the connection between Khan and Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) Zonal Director Sameer Wankhede.

    Referring to the WhatsApp chat, Malik raised questions on Khan not being questioned in the case.

    “Here is a WhatsApp chat between K P Gosavi and an informer which mentions Kashiff Khan. Why is Kashiff Khan not being questioned? What is the relationship between Kashiff Khan and Sameer Dawood Wankhede?” tweeted Malik.

    On November 8, Maharashtra minister Aslam Shaikh had on Monday confirmed that he was invited to the Cordelia cruise party by Fashion TV head Kashiff Khan in which Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan’s son Aryan Khan was arrested by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) Zonal Director Sameer Wankhede.

    Addressing a press conference, Shaikh had said that he does not know him personally and does not have his contact number.

    “Being a minister, I get invited to many events and parties. I was invited to the cruise party by one Kashiff Khan. I don’t know him personally and I also don’t have his contact number. If someone has any evidence, then they should bring it forward,” Shaikh had said.

    The Maharashtra Minister said that two agencies are currently probing the entire issue and the truth would come out soon.

    Meanwhile, the Pune Police on Friday registered a fresh case of cheating against Kiran Gosavi, a Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) witness in the drugs-on-cruise case, at Bhosari police station.

    Three cases have already been registered against Gosavi in Pune city. With a recent case lodged in Pimpri Chinchwad, he has now four cases registered against him in the Pune district.

  • NCB seeks voice sample of Nawab Malik’s son-in-law in drugs case

    By PTI

    MUMBAI: The Narcotics Control Bureau has moved a special court here seeking permission to obtain voice samples of NCP leader Nawab Malik’s son-in-law Sameer Khan and two others in a drugs case.

    Sameer Khan, along with two others, was arrested in the case in January this year but the special court for Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act cases granted him bail in September, observing that there was no strong evidence against him.

    Special public prosecutor Atul Sarpande said new material has emerged in the case, hence the NCB filed this application.

    The anti-drugs agency had earlier claimed the accused had conspired to procure and sell 194.6 kilograms of ganja (cannabis).

    It had charged Khan and others for dealing with ‘commercial quantities’ of the drug, a crime that carries a maximum punishment of 20 years.

    Khan, in his bail plea, had relied on reports of the forensic lab which said 11 of the 18 samples sent to it could not be detected as cannabis.

    The NCB had claimed most of the drugs were seized from co-accused Karan Sejnani, who it said was involved in business transactions with Khan.

  • HC reserves order on interim relief sought in defamation suit filed by Wankhede’s father

    By PTI

    MUMBAI: The Bombay High Court on Friday reserved its order on interim relief sought in a defamation suit filed by NCB zonal director Sameer Wankhede’s father against Maharashtra minister Nawab Malik.

    Dnyandev, Sameer Wankhede’s father, has sought damages of Rs 1.25 crore from the NCP leader.

    He has also sought an order restraining Malik from making any false or incorrect statements against the Wankhede family during the pendency of the suit.

    Justice Madhav Jamdar had in the previous hearing given the petitioner time till Friday to file an additional affidavit to point out how Malik’s tweets and the documents published by him were false and baseless.

    The Bench had also directed Malik to file an affidavit averring that he had verified the documents before posting them on social media.

    Wankhede’s father filed an affidavit listing out 28 documents to establish that his name was ‘Dnyandev’ and not ‘Dawood’ as alleged by the NCP leader.

    The minister, on the other hand, stated in an affidavit that he had “reasonably verified” the documents before posting.

    The judge noted that a purported birth certificate of Sameer Wankhede which Malik had produced apparently has “interpolation”, which would mean that the minister had not taken due care while relying on it.

    Advocate Arshad Shaikh, appearing for Wankhede, argued that Malik was targeting Sameer Wankhede because the minister’s son-in-law had been arrested by the Narcotics Control Bureau and could not get bail for eight months.

    Malik had alleged that Dnyandev Wankhede had converted to Islam.

    Sameer, his son, however, got government job in the quota for the Scheduled Castes, a benefit which a Muslim person can not get, the minister had claimed.

    Sameer Wankhede had refuted the allegation and stated that he and his family were Hindu.