News Analysis India

Tag: Nawab Malik

  • Nawab Malik vs Sameer Wankhede: Now Maharashtra minister accuses NCB official of illegally tapping phones

    By PTI

    MUMBAI: Maharashtra minister Nawab Malik on Tuesday accused NCB official Sameer Wankhede of illegal phone tapping and announced that he will hand over a letter on the official’s ‘misdeeds’ to the agency head.

    “Sameer Wankhede through two persons in Mumbai and Thane is illegally intercepting the mobile phones of some people,” said Malik, who has been targeting Wankhede after his son-in-law’s arrest.

    Malik also claimed that Wankhede had sought the call detail record (CDR) of his family member from the police.

    Wankhede in his affidavit submitted to a Mumbai court on Monday claimed he was under a “lurking threat of arrest as it does not suit some vested interests for conducting an honest and impartial investigation”.

    The official had also claimed that he was being personally targeted by a well-known political figure (Malik), and the only reason he can fathom is that the NCB had arrested “this person’s son-in-law Sameer Khan”.

    Malik said he is forwarding a letter written by “someone in NCB about the various illegal activities of Wankhede’ to the agency’s DG S N Pradhan.”

    The NCP minister said the NCB should investigate the 26 allegations in the letter claiming an ‘extortion racket’ being run within the anti-drugs agency.

    “As a responsible citizen I will be forwarding this letter to DG Narcotics requesting him to include this letter in the investigation being conducted on Sameer Wankhede,” the minister tweeted.

    Malik on Monday claimed that Sameer Wankhede is a Muslim by birth and his real name is ‘Sameer Dawood Wankhede’.

    The minister had released what he claimed the birth certificate of Sameer Wankhede and alleged that the latter had forged documents.

    However, the NCB official’s father later said his name is Dnyandev and not Dawood, as claimed by Malik.

    On Tuesday, speaking to reporters here, Malik said, “I have all the authentic documents to prove that Sameer Wankhede was born into a Muslim family, but he forged his identity and sought a job under the Scheduled Caste category. As per the law, Dalits who are converted to Islam do not get the quota privilege, thus Sameer Wankhede has denied the job opportunity to a genuine person from the Schedule Caste.”

    A legal probe into the matter will be initiated soon, the minister said.

    On Sameer Wankhede’s father saying his name is not Dawood, Malik said it is true that the NCB official’s father Dnyandev Wankhede was born into a Dalit family in Washim district (earlier Akola) and he later joined state Excise department.

    “But, he married a Muslim woman here in Mumbai by converting himself to Islam and accepted the name Dawood. He has two children. However, Dnyandev Wankhede had an afterthought and he used his father’s certificate to obtain all the documents in the name of Dnyandev Wankhede so that his children would benefit,” the minister claimed.

    Malik said if he has produced fake documents, Dnyandev Wankhede should show the birth certificate of Sameer Wankhede and prove his side.

    “I am challenging Dnyandev Wankhede to produce the caste certificate of his son,” he said.

    Malik further stated that after 26 January 1950, Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar had said although he was born as Hindu, he would not die as a Hindu.

    “The then Union government immediately issued a presidential order stating that reservation benefits in government jobs would be applicable to Dalits from Hindu religion only,” he said.

    “Subsequently, the Kabir and Sikh sects got exempted from the order. The last change was brought in by late PM V P Singh, who exempted Dalits converted to Buddhism. However, the Indian law does not offer similar quota benefits to the SC persons converted to Islam or Christianity,” the minister said.

    Thus, Dnyandev Wankhede, who “became Dawood by accepting Islam” cannot seek the quota benefits, Malik said.

    “It is the sole reason why I am calling his documents bogus,” he said.

    He alleged that Sameer Wankhede and some of his colleagues were involved into some “extortion racket”.

    “Their recent visit to Maldives was for the same reason. I believe the amount was as high as Rs 1,000 crore,” the minister claimed.

    ALSO READ | Sameer Wankhede’s father says his name is Dnyandev not Dawood, slams Nawab Malik

    Meanwhile, a Mumbai-based advocate has submitted a written complaint to Mumbai Police and Maharashtra government demanding an investigation against Wankhede and four others on charges of extortion in connection with the drugs-on-cruise case, police said on Tuesday.

    The advocate Sudha Dwivedi approached MRA Marg Police Station for registration of an FIR against Wankhede, Shah Rukh Khan’s manager Poja Dadlani and three witnesses in the drug case– Prabhakar Sail, Manish Bhanushali and Kiran Gosavi-. over allegations of “extortion by threat of accusation of an offence” in the Mumbai cruise drug case.

    “A complaint by a lawyer Sudha Dwivedi has been received but no FIR has been registered yet,” said officer Anand Dadu, MRA Marg Police Station.

    The written complaint has also been sent to Maharashtra Home Minister Dilip Walse, Mumbai Police Commissioner Hemant Nagrale, Mumbai Police Joint Commissioner (Crime) Milind Bharambe and State Anti Corruption Bureau.

    Dwivedi’s complaint is based upon the allegation made by Prabhakar Sail, who claims to be the bodyguard of another NCB witness Kiran Gosavi, that Gosavi took Rs 50 lakh from an individual after the raid at the cruise ship.

    ALSO READ | Sameer Wankhede and other officers have impeccable service record: NCB tells court

    “It is very apparent that now, based on the affidavit that, the entire investigation would be nothing but a sham and flimsy investigation which is done apparently to bring down the image of the State Government, Bollywood Film Industry and the Anti – Narcotics Cell of the State Government who has been working tirelessly by seizing ‘heroin’ and not ‘heroines’, lawyer Dwivedi’s complaint read.

    “The statement of the said Prabhakar clearly make it clear that, there was no recovery, the panchnama are false, fabricated and it was done with a clear intention for personal gains and with hand in gloves with NCB Mumbai Zonal Unit officials involved and for which proper investigation has to be done by your office, failing which, the criminal act of these people would boost their confidence and they can misuse the same to their personal gains,” complaint added.

    An NCB team busted an alleged drugs party on the Cordelia Cruise ship which was on its way to Goa at mid-sea on October 2. A total of 20 people, including Aryan Khan, have been arrested so far in the case.

    (With ANI Inputs)

  • Sameer Wankhede’s father says his name is Dnyandev not Dawood, slams Nawab Malik

    By PTI

    MUMBAI: Narcotics Control Bureau’s (NCB) Mumbai zonal director Sameer Wankhede’s father on Monday said his name is Dnyandev and not Dawood as claimed by NCP leader and Maharashtra minister Nawab Malik.

    Speaking to a news channel, he said his son is like Abhimanyu from the epic Mahabharat who is surrounded by enemies, but he will come out of this ‘chakravyuh’ (a military foundation to surround enemies) like Arjun.

    Hitting back at Malik, who has claimed that Sameer Wankhede is a Muslim by birth and his real name is ‘Sameer Dawood Wankhede’, the Wankhede senior said the NCP leader was playing very low-level politics.

    Malik has released what he claimed the birth certificate of Sameer Wankhede and alleged that the latter had forged documents.

    Speaking to a regional news channel, the Wankhede senior said, “It is an absolute lie that my name is Dawood Wankhede. I think there is some malafide intention of Malik behind releasing that birth certificate of Sameer Wankhede and defaming us. My name is Dnyandev Wankhede since my birth and it is still the same”.

    “I completed my graduation and post-graduation and even served in a state government department. How is it possible that none of them knew my name was not Dnyandev and it was Dawood? How come Malik alone gets the suspicious document?” he questioned.

    Earlier in the day, Sameer Wankhede had denied Malik’s allegations of forging documents, including his birth certificate, saying his father’s name is Dnyandev, who was an excise official.

    “My wife died six years ago. She had once prepared an affidavit in which it is mentioned that my name is Dnyandev Wankhede. I even have a valid caste certificate with me. And not just me, even my relatives have similar documents to establish it,” the Wankhede senior claimed.

    In a statement, Sameer Wankhede had mentioned that his father Dnyandev Kachruji Wankhede retired as senior police inspector of the state Excise department, Pune, in June 2007.

    His father is a Hindu and his late mother Zaheeda was a Muslim, the official had said.

    “When my son and his first wife had a son, even on the latter’s birth certificate my son’s full name is mentioned in which my name is stated as Dnyandev Wankhede. Those people (Malik) should understand it. God knows from where Malik drew this connection,” he said.

    Sameer Wankhede had also mentioned that he had married Dr Shabana Qureshi in 2006 under the Special Marriage Act.

    Both of them divorced mutually through a civil court in 2016.

    Later, in 2017, he married Kranti Redkar.

    “It looks like Nawab Malik was hurt after his son-in-law (Sameer Khan) was put behind bars by the NCB earlier. He never uttered a word against the NCB when his son-in-law was in jail. Malik started speaking out only after he was released,” the Wankhede senior said.

    When asked about the allegations of pay-off raised by an NCB witness, he said if Sameer Wankhede wanted a bribe from Shah Rukh Khan, he would have asked the actor to deliver it at home.

    “He would not have arrested his (Shah Rukh Khan’s) son (Aryan Khan) and then demanded it.”

    An NCB team led by Sameer Wankhede earlier this month allegedly seized drugs onboard a cruise ship off the Mumbai coast following which Aryan Khan was arrested on October 3.

    Reacting to claims of bribery made by NCB independent witness Prabhakar Sail against Sameer Wankhede, the Wankhede senior said Sail seemed thrashed and then forced to give such a statement.

    “While talking Sail is coughing, drinking water. All these are signs of getting beaten up severely. Why was he quiet for so many days if he was made to sign some blank papers (after the alleged cruise ship raid by NCB officials)?” he asked.

    On Sunday, Sail, in a statement to the media, claimed that Rs 25 crore was demanded by an official of the NCB and other persons, including absconding witness K P Gosavi, to let off Aryan Khan in the drugs case.

    Sail told media persons that he had overheard Gosavi telling one Sam D’Souza over the phone about a demand of Rs 25 crore and “to settle at Rs 18 crore as they have to give Rs eight crore to Sameer Wankhede”.

    Sameer Wankhede had denied the allegations calling them as a bid to scuttle the probe in the drugs case.

  • Did man behind Aryan Khan’s arrest Sameer Wankhede forge caste certificate to get job?

    By Express News Service

    MUMBAI: Maharashtra NCP minister Nawab Malik on Monday claimed that Narcotics Control Bureau’s zonal director Sameer Wankhede used forged documents including his birth certificate.

    Malik tweeted a photo of the purported certificate, saying “Sameer Dawood Wankhede ka yahan se shuru hua furjiwada. (Sameer Dawood Wankhede’s document forging started from here).”

    Wankhede, an IRS officer of the 2008 batch, slammed the minister, saying his action was defamatory in nature and an invasion of his family’s privacy.

    The NCB official said he was pained by the nature of personal defamatory and slanderous attacks by the minister without any justification.

    Sameer Dawood Wankhede का यहां से शुरू हुआ फर्जीवाड़ा pic.twitter.com/rjdOkPs4T6
    — Nawab Malik نواب ملک नवाब मलिक (@nawabmalikncp) October 25, 2021
    “The series of acts of the minister over the past few days have put me and my family under tremendous mental and emotional pressure,” Wankhede said in a statement.

    An NCB team led by Wankhede earlier this month allegedly seized drugs onboard a cruise ship off the Mumbai coast following which Aryan Khan, the son of Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan, was arrested on October 3.

    ALSO READ: NCB orders vigilance inquiry into ‘extortion’ affidavit against Sameer Wankhede

    Malik has repeatedly termed the cruise drugs bust case as “fake”.

    On Monday, the document posted by Malik on Twitter mentioned the name of the NCB official’s father as Dawood.

    Wankhede said his father’s name is Dnyandev, who was an excise official.

    Malik has been targeting Wankhede after his son-in-law Sameer Khan was arrested in an alleged drug case.

    The minister had claimed that NCB officials booked Sameer Khan under wrong charges and no banned drug was found in his possession.

    Malik, who is also the NCP spokesperson, recently claimed that his government will soon put Wankhede behind the bars.

    On Monday, talking to a news channel in Nanded, Malik claimed that Wankhede is a Muslim by birth.

    “In the past 15 days, whenever I spoke on various subjects like the Maldives tour (of Wankhede), I didn’t get any answers and they were termed as political allegations. But, now the truth has come out,” he said.

    Malik stated that earlier the BJP had said his son-in-law and Aryan Khan are Muslims.

    ALSO READ: NCB, Sameer Wankhede move court against extortion allegations

    Later, the BJP’s “troll army” tried to create an environment, making it a Hindu-Muslim issue via Wankhede, he alleged.

    “NCB zonal director Wankhede’s name is ‘Sameer Dawood Wankhede’, and he is a Muslim by birth. I have published his birth certificate (online). I had to make an effort to find it. He got the IRS job on bogus certificate. I shall reveal more such acts of his ‘bogusgiri’,” he said.

    Malik also alleged that by “hiding” his religion, he (Wankhede) obtained fake documents and through this, the right of a backward class candidate was snatched.

    Notably, Union minister Ramdas Athawale on Sunday came out in support of Wankhede and said targeting a Dalit officer who is doing good work is not right.

    Terming Malik’s allegations against Wankhede as “baseless” and “mischievous”, Athawale had defended the officer, saying he has not done anything wrong.

    ALSO READ: NCB’s Wankhede, middlemen demanded Rs 25 crore from Shah Rukh Khan to release son Aryan in drugs case, claims Witness

    Athawale had also accused Malik of trying to give a religious and casteist colour while targeting Wankhede.

    Meanwhile, reacting to Malik’s claims, Wankhede in a press release said the minister’s act of publishing his personal information on Twitter was “defamatory in nature and unnecessary invasion of his family’s privacy”.

    Wankhede said this was intended to malign him, his family, his father, and his late mother.

    In the statement, Wankhede mentioned that his father Dnyandev Kachruji Wankhede retired as senior police inspector of the state Excise department, Pune, in June 2007.

    “My mother was Muslim and my father a Hindu. I got married to Dr Shabhana Qureshi under the special marriage act. Then we got legally divorced and I married Kranti Redkar. There is a malicious campaign to defame me and my family members,” Wankhede added.

    Sources said Sameer Wankhede’s father converted to Islam to marry his wife Zaheeda and changed his name from Dnyandev to Dawood. However, Sameer Wankhede’s birth certificate was allegedly amended later to remove Dawood and insert Dnyandev as his father’s name. The changes were made when the BMC carried out the digitisation of birth and death certificates.

    “An FIR will be filed against Wankhede stating that he forged documents. An inquiry will be set up to verify his documents and caste certificates. If by birth Sameer Wankhede is Muslim, then he cannot be from the Hindu backward class. All the details will be unearthed in a probe,” said a government official, requesting anonymity.

    (With PTI inputs)

  • ‘Family under pressure’: NCB’s Wankhede slams minister Nawab Malik over forged birth certificate claims 

    By PTI

    MUMBAI: Maharashtra NCP minister Nawab Malik on Monday claimed that Narcotics Control Bureau’s zonal director Sameer Wankhede used forged documents including his birth certificate.

    Malik tweeted a photo of the purported certificate, saying “Sameer Dawood Wankhede ka yahan se shuru hua furjiwada. (Sameer Dawood Wankhede’s document forging started from here).”

    Wankhede, an IRS officer of the 2008 batch, slammed the minister, saying his action was defamatory in nature and an invasion of his family’s privacy.

    The NCB official said he was pained by the nature of personal defamatory and slanderous attacks by the minister without any justification.

    Sameer Dawood Wankhede का यहां से शुरू हुआ फर्जीवाड़ा pic.twitter.com/rjdOkPs4T6
    — Nawab Malik نواب ملک नवाब मलिक (@nawabmalikncp) October 25, 2021
    “The series of acts of the minister over the past few days have put me and my family under tremendous mental and emotional pressure,” Wankhede said in a statement.

    An NCB team led by Wankhede earlier this month allegedly seized drugs onboard a cruise ship off the Mumbai coast following which Aryan Khan, the son of Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan, was arrested on October 3.

    ALSO READ: NCB orders vigilance inquiry into ‘extortion’ affidavit against Sameer Wankhede

    Malik has repeatedly termed the cruise drugs bust case as “fake”.

    On Monday, the document posted by Malik on Twitter mentioned the name of the NCB official’s father as Dawood.

    Wankhede said his father’s name is Dnyandev, who was an excise official.

    Malik has been targeting Wankhede after his son-in-law Sameer Khan was arrested in an alleged drug case.

    The minister had claimed that NCB officials booked Sameer Khan under wrong charges and no banned drug was found in his possession.

    Malik, who is also the NCP spokesperson, recently claimed that his government will soon put Wankhede behind the bars.

    On Monday, talking to a news channel in Nanded, Malik claimed that Wankhede is a Muslim by birth.

    “In the past 15 days, whenever I spoke on various subjects like the Maldives tour (of Wankhede), I didn’t get any answers and they were termed as political allegations. But, now the truth has come out,” he said.

    Malik stated that earlier the BJP had said his son-in-law and Aryan Khan are Muslims.

    ALSO READ: NCB, Sameer Wankhede move court against extortion allegations

    Later, the BJP’s “troll army” tried to create an environment, making it a Hindu-Muslim issue via Wankhede, he alleged.

    “NCB zonal director Wankhede’s name is ‘Sameer Dawood Wankhede’, and he is a Muslim by birth. I have published his birth certificate (online). I had to make an effort to find it. He got the IRS job on bogus certificate. I shall reveal more such acts of his ‘bogusgiri’,” he said.

    Malik also alleged that by “hiding” his religion, he (Wankhede) obtained fake documents and through this, the right of a backward class candidate was snatched.

    Notably, Union minister Ramdas Athawale on Sunday came out in support of Wankhede and said targeting a Dalit officer who is doing good work is not right.

    Terming Malik’s allegations against Wankhede as “baseless” and “mischievous”, Athawale had defended the officer, saying he has not done anything wrong.

    ALSO READ: NCB’s Wankhede, middlemen demanded Rs 25 crore from Shah Rukh Khan to release son Aryan in drugs case, claims Witness

    Athawale had also accused Malik of trying to give a religious and casteist colour while targeting Wankhede.

    Meanwhile, reacting to Malik’s claims, Wankhede in a press release said the minister’s act of publishing his personal information on Twitter was “defamatory in nature and unnecessary invasion of his family’s privacy”.

    Wankhede said this was intended to malign him, his family, his father and late mother.

    In the statement, Wankhede mentioned that his father Dnyandev Kachruji Wankhede retired as senior police inspector of the state Excise department, Pune, in June 2007.

    His father is a Hindu and his late mother Zaheeda was a Muslim, the official said.

    Wankhede said he belongs to a “composite, multi-religious and secular family in true Indian tradition” and he is proud of his heritage.

    The NCB official also mentioned that he married Dr Shabana Qureshi in 2006 under the Special Marriage Act.

    Both of them divorced mutually through a civil court in 2016.

    Later, in 2017, he married Kranti Redkar, the official added.

  • Tit-for-tat? NCB to move Bombay HC seeking bail cancellation of Nawab Malik’s son-in-law

    By ANI

    MUMBAI: Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) will move Bombay High Court seeking cancellation of bail of Sameer Khan, the son-in-law of Maharashtra minister Nawab Malik for violating bail conditions in a drug case.

    “We will move for bail cancellation Sameer Khan in Bombay HC for violating bail conditions,” a top NCB official told ANI.

    Notably, Nawab Malik’s son-in-law Sameer Khan was earlier arrested on January 13 this year by NCB in connection with a drug case. Khan was granted bail on September 27, after eight months in prison.

    Meanwhile, the NCB zonal director Sameer Wankhede and Nawab Malik are at loggerheads over the investigation of the drugs-on-cruise in Mumbai.

    Malik has shared the birth certificate of Wankhede on Twitter saying “Sameer Dawood Wankhede’s fraud started from here.”

    Following this Wankhede said he will fight Malik legally.

    “I have come to know about a fresh tweet by Nawab Malik about my birth certificate. This is an ugly attempt to bring in all the things which are not connected to all this. My mother was a Muslim so does he want to bring my dead mother in all this? To verify my caste and background, anyone can go to my native place and verify my lineage from my great grandfather. But he should not spread this filth like this. I will fight all this legally and don’t want to comment much on it outside court,” Wankhede told ANI.

    Earlier, the Maharashtra minister had put an allegation of extortion on Wankhede while challenging the NCB official that he will lose his job within a year.

    An NCB team busted an alleged drugs party on the Cordelia Cruise ship which was on its way to Goa at mid-sea on October 2.

    A total of 20 people, including Bollywood actor Shahrukh Khan’s son Aryan Khan, have been arrested so far in the case.

  • ‘Family is being attacked, will take legal action’: NCB’s Sameer Wankhede replies to Nawab Malik’s ‘threat’

    By Express News Service

    MUMBAI: NCP leader and Maharashtra Minister Nawab Malik on Thursday demanded to know what was the NCB’s Mumbai region chief Sameer Wankhede doing in Dubai and the Maldives with his family during the pandemic lockdown and threatened him with jail for “concocting drug cases against Bollywood personalities”.

    “It’s very clear all this ‘vasuli’ (extortion) took place in Maldives and Dubai. I am releasing those photos. What was he doing in Maldives-Dubai, he must answer,” Malik said at a public rally in Pune amid thunderous applause.

    Daring Wankhede to come clean on his Dubai-Maldives sojourns with family, Malik, who is the national spokesperson of NCP, said attempts were made to implicate certain film folks in fake cases and parade them before the NCB.

    “Along with some Bharatiya Janata Party people, Wankhede is threatening the film industry people… I am repeating – He keeps filing false cases and arresting people based on WhatsApp chats and without any evidence. I am going to reveal more on this,” Malik warned.

    The NCP leader declared that soon, he will “expose Wankhede with full proof on all the fake cases with which he’s trying to instill fear in Bollywood,” for which he would pay a heavy price.

    “Within six months he will lose his job and within a year, he will be jailed. I am collecting evidence against him,” he said.

    He released some photos of Sameer Wankhede’s sister Jasmeen Wankhede, ostensibly shot in the Maldives with captions and tagging her friends, including Fletcher Patel who had called her the ‘Lady Don’.

    Mutha Ashok Jain, deputy director, southwest zone of NCB issued a note clarifying that Wankhede visited the Maldives with family but not Dubai. “Sameer Wankhede had sought leaves for a family trip to the Maldives on July 27, 2021. But he had not sought any leave for Dubai,” he clarified.

    After NCB’s clarification, Nawab Malik shared the photograph of Sameer Wankhede with his sister Yasmeen Wankhede at Dubai’s Grand Hyatt Hotel on December 10, 2021. Malik tweeted, “Sameer Wankhede accepted the fact that he had visited the Maldives but he denies his Dubai visit. Here is the proof of his visit to Dubai with his sister. Wankhede was at Dubai’s Grand Hyatt Hotel on December 10, 2021.”

    Wankhede reacted to Malik’s statements as a “personal attack” on him and his family members. “Even my deceased mother retired father, and sister are not spared. I strongly condemn this,” Wankhede said.

    Jasmeen Wankhede also hit back, asking whether “Malik is a judge”, and said she was accountable to her family or friends and the NCP leader had no business to make public her private trip.

    Sameer Wankhede, who had arrested Malik’s son-in-law Sameer Khan in January 2021 in an alleged drugs case, said in an anguished tone: “I fail to understand why the attacks on me, my sister, my retired father, my deceased mother when I am merely doing my duty. The cases are sub-judice. I will give a fitting reply later.”

    Malik added that after the death of actor Sushant Singh Rajput (June 2020), Wankhede was brought to the NCB but the mystery continues whether Sushant committed suicide or it was a murder.

    “But, thereafter, the NCB has started playing its games with the film industry. Dozens of stars were summoned on WhatsApp conversations. Rhea Chakraborty was arrested for some Rs 4,000 payment.”

    He reiterated his demand to probe the WhatsApp records of Sameer Wankhede which would reveal the “bogus” nature of the NCB’s cases.

    Bharatiya Janata Party state President Chandrakant Patil said that Malik is rattled by the arrest of his son-in-law and has been slamming the NCB for the past two weeks.

    The war between the NCB-NCP erupted after the probe agency raided a rave party aboard a cruise ship and arrested 8 persons, including Shah Rukh Khan’s son Aryan Khan – all now in judicial custody till October 30.

    Later, the NCB nabbed 12 others, and on Thursday, actress Ananya Panday was summoned for probe, which will continue further on Friday.

  • Maharashtra govt intensifies NCP minister Nawab Malik’s security after threat calls over his ‘NCB expose’

    Express News Service

    MUMBAI: Following a big expose on the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) by Nawab Malik, the Maharashtra government on Thursday intensified the security cover of the NCP minister.

    Confirming the development, Malik stated that he started receiving threat calls soon after he revealed the involvement of private citizen KP Gosavi and BJP leader Manish Bhanushali in the NCB’s cruise party raid. “I am getting calls on my office phone where they threaten to murder me. After bringing this to the notice of the home department, my security cover was increased,” Malik said. 

    NCP spokesperson Nawab Malik has been at the forefront to expose the alleged misconduct of the NCB during the Cruise Party raids. The NCB and its officers have been in the spotlight ever since Malik has made big revelations with documents, videos and CCTV footage in the last few days. He has alleged that the NCB has been targetting people with malafide intentions and are working on the behest of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Earlier, Malik had revealed that Rishab Sachdeva, the brother-in-law of former Mumbai Youth BJP president Mohit Kamboj aka Bhartiya had also attended the cruise party. Sachdeva along with two others was detained but later released after phone calls were received from Mumbai and Delhi. 

    The NCB director Sameer Wankhede, however, has denied all the charges and clarified that the raids were carried out as per prevailing protocol. 

    Referring to his son-in-law Sameer Khan, who was recently granted bail in a drugs case, the NCP spokesperson said that the bail order exposes NCB’s false claims. “It (NCB) said ganja was seized (in the case involving Sameer Khan), but there was none. The news channels also maligned us. but the chargesheet and the Panchanama report mentioned nothing like this. I just had to make things clear today after the bail order, since the BJP was targeting me over my son-in-law when I raised issues about the NCB’s fake case of the cruise drug party,” the NCP leader said.

  • NCB has ‘malafide intentions’, making ‘selective leaks’: Maharashtra minister Nawab Malik

    By PTI

    MUMBAI: Against the backdrop of various raids conducted by the NCB, including on some high-profile people, Maharashtra minister and NCP spokesperson Nawab Malik on Thursday alleged that the anti-drugs agency has “malafide intentions” and is involved in “selective leaks” to frame people.

    Addressing a press conference, Malik also said that his son-in-law Sameer Khan, who was recently granted bail in a drugs case after nine months, will move the high court to seek quashing of charges levelled against him by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB).

    Khan was arrested by the NCB in January this year in an alleged drug case. He got bail last month.

    Apart from the recent drugs bust onboard a cruise liner off the Mumbai coast, that led to the arrest of Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan’s son Aryan Khan, the NCB last year investigated a drug case linked to the death of actor Sushant Singh Rajput and several other matters related to narcotics involving high-profile people.

    Malik last week alleged that the NCB’s raid on the cruise ship off the Mumbai coast on October 2 was “fake”, and no narcotic drugs were found during it. On Wednesday, the minister alleged that the “NCB has malafide intentions and is involved in only selective leaks to frame people”.

    He also said that his security was beefed up after he started getting “threats” when he raised doubts over the NCB’s investigations. Referring to the bail order issued by an NDPS court in connection with the case involving his son-in-law Sameer Khan, Malik said there was “no prima facie evidence of a drug syndicate”.

    It is surprising that an agency like the NCB cannot differentiate between drugs which fall under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act and tobacco-related items, the NCP leader said. “It (NCB) said ganja was seized (in the case involving Sameer Khan), but there was none. I just had to make things clear today after the bail order, since the BJP was targeting me over my son-in-law when I raised issues about the NCB’s fake case of the cruise drug party,” the NCP leader said.

    Malik also claimed his family faced trauma and stigma due to the NCB.

  • Who is Mohit Kamboj? BJP leader whose relative freed in cruise rave party case, says NCP leader

    By Express News Service

    NCP chief spokesperson and minister Nawab Malik alleged on Saturday that Rishab Sachdeva, the brother-in-law of former Mumbai BJP youth wing president Mohit Kumbhoj aka Bhartiya, and two others were let off by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) after their detention in the cruise rave party case.

    Malik said he will write to the Chief Minister of Maharashtra Uddhav Thackeray demanding a high-level probe by the Mumbai police to check how these people were detained and later let off.

    “The NCB director Sameer Wankhede in his media statement on October 3 said that 8 to 10 people were detained, but he arrested only eight. However, 11 people were detained as per the official record, but three of them — Rishabh Sachdeva, Pratik Ganbhana, and Amir Furniturewala — were set free after phone calls from Mumbai and Delhi. We want to know who called Sameer Wankhede to let off these three people. Their phone records have to be checked,” Malik demanded.

    He said that CCTV footage of the cruise and connected areas of this case should be checked by the police along with phone calls of these three people and the NCB director Sameer Wankhede.

    ALSO READ | Mumbai cruise ship case: NCP minister Nawab Malik demands probe into ‘release’ of trio

    “Rishabh Sachdeva’s family members were also seen in the NCB office. How were they allowed to enter the NCB office? It shows that this is a fabricated case to frame Aryan Khan to target Shahrukh Khan,” Malik alleged.

    Who is Mohit Kamboj?

    Mohit Kamboj aka Bhartiya, a native of Varanasi, resides in Mumbai. He came to Mumbai in 2004. He is a gold and diamond merchant. He was also the national president of the Indian Bullion and Jewellery Association (IBJA) from 2012 to 2019. He had changed his last name to Bhartiya in January 2019.

    Kamboj worked as BJP’s Mumbai unit youth wing president and is close to senior leaders of BJP. He was a BJP MLA candidate from Dindoshi Vidhansabha in 2014. He is known to be very resourceful for BJP as he raises elections funds. 

    In the past, the Bank of Baroda had declared Kamboj as a willful defaulter. The bank conducted a forensic audit of Avyaan Overseas and found that the compnay “diverted” a part of the loan  to help its director buy a property through undisclosed entities. It also found several related party transactions by the firm. The CBI had also filed a case against him in connection with Rs 67. 22 crore bank fraud. 

    In the recent pastMohit Bhartiya’s name had also emerged iname was also emerged to topple the Hemant Soren government in Jharkhand. Later the plan was thwarted with the arrest of three people in Ranchi.

  • Who is Mohit Kamboj? The BJP leader whose relative was allegedly freed in cruise drugs case

    By Express News Service

    NCP chief spokesperson and minister Nawab Malik alleged on Saturday that Rishab Sachdeva, the brother-in-law of former Mumbai BJP youth wing president Mohit Kumbhoj aka Bhartiya, and two others were let off by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) after their detention in the cruise rave party case.

    Malik said he will write to the Chief Minister of Maharashtra Uddhav Thackeray demanding a high-level probe by the Mumbai police to check how these people were detained and later let off.

    “The NCB director Sameer Wankhede in his media statement on October 3 said that 8 to 10 people were detained, but he arrested only eight. However, 11 people were detained as per the official record, but three of them — Rishabh Sachdeva, Pratik Ganbhana, and Amir Furniturewala — were set free after phone calls from Mumbai and Delhi. We want to know who called Sameer Wankhede to let off these three people. Their phone records have to be checked,” Malik demanded.

    He said that CCTV footage of the cruise and connected areas of this case should be checked by the police along with phone calls of these three people and the NCB director Sameer Wankhede.

    Wankhede refuted all allegations of the NCP spokesperson. He said that they had detained the 14 people but after checking them, they are arrested only eight who were connected to a drugs rave party at a Cruise ship off the Mumbai coast.

    While Mohit Kamboj, former president of BJP youth wing said that he will slap the Rs 100 crore defamation case against Nawab Malik for defaming him and his family name. He said he is ready for any inquiry and probe. “Let the Mumbai police check our phones. How can Nawab Malik claim that my brother-in-law was detained for a drug case,” Kamboj asked.

    ALSO READ | Mumbai cruise ship case: NCP minister Nawab Malik demands probe into ‘release’ of trio

    “Rishabh Sachdeva’s family members were also seen in the NCB office. How were they allowed to enter the NCB office? It shows that this is a fabricated case to frame Aryan Khan to target Shahrukh Khan,” Malik alleged.

    Who is Mohit Kamboj?

    Mohit Kamboj aka Bhartiya, a native of Varanasi, resides in Mumbai. He came to Mumbai in 2004. He is a gold and diamond merchant. He was also the national president of the Indian Bullion and Jewellery Association (IBJA) from 2012 to 2019. He had changed his last name to Bhartiya in January 2019.

    Kamboj worked as BJP’s Mumbai unit youth wing president and is close to senior leaders of BJP. He was a BJP MLA candidate from Dindoshi Vidhansabha in 2014. He is known to be very resourceful for BJP as he raises elections funds. 

    In the past, the Bank of Baroda had declared Kamboj as a willful defaulter. The bank conducted a forensic audit of Avyaan Overseas and found that the compnay “diverted” a part of the loan  to help its director buy a property through undisclosed entities. It also found several related party transactions by the firm. The CBI had also filed a case against him in connection with Rs 67. 22 crore bank fraud. 

    In the recent pastMohit Bhartiya’s name had also emerged iname was also emerged to topple the Hemant Soren government in Jharkhand. Later the plan was thwarted with the arrest of three people in Ranchi.