News Analysis India

Tag: NCB

  • Aide of NCB witness in Mumbai cruise drugs bust held in Pune cheating case

    By PTI

    PUNE: Police on Monday arrested a 27-year-old female assistant of K P Gosavi, an independent witness of the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) in the drugs-on-cruise bust, in a 2018 cheating case registered in Pune in which the latter is the main accused, an official said.

    Last week, the Pune police had issued a lookout circular against Gosavi, the main suspect, in connection with the cheating case to prevent him from leaving the country.

    Rajendra Landage, senior inspector, Faraskhana police station, said they have arrested one Sherbano Kureshi, a resident of Govandi in Mumbai, in connection with the case in which one Chinmay Deshmukh was allegedly cheated by Gosavi to the tune of Rs 3.09 lakh on the pretext of offering him a job in Malaysia in the hotel industry.

    He said Kureshi was Gosavi’s assistant and the swindled money was received in her bank account.

    “During investigation, it was revealed that Gosavi used to withdraw money from her account without her knowledge,” he said.

    Landage added that Kureshi was arrested on Monday and produced before a local court which remanded her in police custody till October 23.

    Gosavi is one of the nine independent witnesses of the NCB in the case related to alleged recovery of drugs from a cruise ship off the Mumbai coast earlier this month.

    Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan’s son Aryan is one of the accused arrested in the drugs case.

    Deshmukh, who was allegedly cheated by Gosavi, had registered a complaint against him.

    According to the complaint, Deshmukh had contacted Gosavi after he put up an advertisement on social media about some vacancy in the hotel industry in Malaysia.

    “While promising a job in Malaysia, Gosavi collectively took Rs 3.09 lakh from him in installments. However, he neither offered any job to him nor paid his money back,” an official from the Faraskhana police station had said earlier.

    The complaint against Gosavi was registered in 2018 under various IPC sections, including 420 (cheating), and relevant provisions of the Information Technology Act.

  • Cruise drugs case: Shiv Sena leader moves SC seeking judicial enquiry into affairs of NCB at Mumbai

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: A Shiv Sena leader has moved the Supreme Court seeking judicial enquiry into affairs of Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) at Mumbai and its officials in the wake of the arrest of Aryan Khan, son of Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan in a case of alleged seizure of drugs from a cruise ship in Mumbai.

    The petition has urged the apex court to take suo moto cognizance to protect the fundamental rights of Aryan who has been booked under the NDPS Act by NCB, Zonal Office, Mumbai.

    “I would like to point out towards the malafide style, approach and dirty vendetta affairs of NCB at Mumbai and it’s officials targeting select film celebrity & few models since last two years and would like to request Your Honour to order to institute special judicial investigation & enquiry to unearth the role of NCB official,” the plea filed by Mumbai-based Shiv Sena leader Kishore Tiwari said.

    Referring to the statement of NCP leader and Maharashtra Minister Nawab Malik in which he had cast aspersions on NCB, the plea said it’s high time the NCB is probed by a top court judge to unravel the truth.

    Aryan is currently lodged in Arthur Road prison in central Mumbai in the case of alleged seizure of drugs from a cruise ship.

    Based on a tip-off that a rave party was scheduled on the ship, an NCB team raided the Goa-bound Cordelia cruise on October 2 evening and allegedly seized drugs, and later made the arrests. 

  • Aryan Khan linked to international drug network, involved in drug trafficking: NCB

    By Express News Service

    MUMBAI:  Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan’s son Aryan Khan is linked to the international drug network and is involved in drug trafficking as well as consumption, the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) told a Mumbai court on Wednesday.

    The submissions were made before Special Judge V V Patil, designated to hear matters related to the NDPS Act, during the hearing of the bail plea filed by Aryan and the co-accused. The NCB said the initial probe had revealed that Aryan was in touch with some persons abroad who appeared to be a part of an international drug network for illicit procurement.

    “The investigation requires sufficient time to properly investigate the said linkages so as to approach the concerned foreign agency through a proper channel,” the agency argued. Prima facie, there was sufficient material in the form of WhatsApp chats and pictures etc. to show that Khan was an active part of the illicit drug chain along with others.

    Calling the NCB’s charge “inherently absurd”, senior advocate Amit Desai said no drugs were found on Aryan. “They are some young kids. In many countries these substances are legal. Let us not penalise (them) in bail… They have suffered enough,” he said. The court will continue the hearing on Thursday.

  • 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.

  • Central agencies including Enforcement Directorate, CBI, NCB, being misused to target opposition: Sharad Pawar 

    The NCP, which shares power in Maharashtra with the Shiv Sena and Congress, had earlier said it will face the onslaught of central agencies on its leaders and workers will full vigour.

  • BJP targeting kin of Maharashtra ministers, never seen such ‘blatant misuse of power’: Sharad Pawar

    Express News Service

    MUMBAI: NCP chief Sharad Pawar on Wednesday alleged that since the BJP failed to topple the Maha Vikas Aghadi government in Maharashtra, it was targeting close relatives and associates of the ministers in the state government.

    Addressing a press conference, the veteran politician said that in his 56 years of career, he had never seen such “blatant misuse of power” by the central government.  His statement comes days after the Income Tax sleuths searched the properties of relatives of NCP leader and Deputy CM Ajit Pawar.

    “BJP has been trying to unstable Uddhav Thackeray-led government, but has failed in all its attempts. Therefore, as a new strategy, they are targeting the people who are close to or relatives of the ministers. The raid is not at Ajit Pawar but on the properties owned by his sisters and son. A similar thing happened with Congress minister Ashok Chavan and Shiv Sena minister Subhash Desai whose close associates and relatives were targetted by conducting raids,” Pawar said. 

    Pawar also took jibe at former CM Devendra Fadnavis for his statement that he still felt like being the CM. “It is a good thing that I couldn’t  feel so even though I was a four-time CM,” Pawar said.

    ‘Deputy CM’s sisters have no big assets’

    Pawar said the sisters of Ajit Pawar had nothing to do with politics. They were leading middle-class lives and did not own big properties but their houses were raided.

  • NCB officer Sameer Wankhede probing cruise drugs case alleges cops ‘monitoring’ him, lodges complaint

    By PTI

    MUMBAI: Narcotics Control Bureau Zonal Director Sameer Wankhede, who is supervising probe into the recent cruise drugs bust case, has filed a police complaint in Mumbai alleging two cops were monitoring his movements, an NCB official said on Monday.

    According to the NCB official, Wankhede had been regularly visiting the cemetery in suburban Oshiwara where his mother was buried after her death in 2015.

    Two officials, reportedly from the Oshiwara police station, allegedly went to the cemetery and took CCTV footage to monitor Wankhede’s movement, he said.

    The senior IRS officer took note of the alleged surveillance and approached senior Maharashtra Police officials over the matter.

    Wankhede has filed a complaint alleging his movement was being monitored and attached CCTV footage of the Oshiwara cemetery in support of his claim, the official said.

    Wankhede has been dealing with high-profile drug-related cases since he took over as zonal director of the central agency, but has never noticed anything like this, he said.

    The top officer of the drug law enforcement agency has been part of multiple high-profile raids carried out by the NCB in the recent past.

    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, Wankhede investigated the 2020 drug case linked to the death of actor Sushant Singh Rajput and several other matters related to narcotics involving high-profile people.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • Drugs cruise case: NCB claims it doesn’t see political affiliation or religion, dismisses ‘motivated’ allegations

    By PTI

    MUMBAI: The Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) on Saturday said all the allegations levelled against the agency in connection with the cruise ship raid and alleged recovery of drugs, in which Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan’s son Aryan Khan was arrested, are “baseless, motivated afterthoughts and prejudicial”.

    NCB Director, Mumbai Zone, Sameer Wankhede said the anti-drugs agency works professionally.

    “We do not see any political party and religion. We do our job professionally,” he added.

    Based on a tip-off, an NCB team raided the Goa-bound cruise ship last Saturday and claimed to have recovered banned drugs.

    A total of 18 persons have been arrested in the case, including Aryan Khan.

    The incident took a political turn when Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader and Maharashtra minister Nawab Malik on Wednesday claimed that the raid was “fake” and that “outsiders” were involved in it.

    On Saturday, Malik alleged that the NCB had initially detained 11 persons from the Goa-bound cruise ship, but let off three of them, including the brother-in-law of BJP leader Mohit Bharatiya, a couple of hours later.

    A senior NCB official told media persons on Saturday that the two men, whom Malik had claimed as “outsiders” involved in the raid, were actually among the nine independent witnesses involved in the operation.

    ALSO READ: NCP minister Nawab Malik demands probe into ‘release’ of trio

    He said the duo was not known to the NCB before October 2, when the raid was conducted.

    NCB Deputy Director General Gyaneshwar Singh told reporters that such statements are based on conjecture and assumptions.

    “These assumptions are frivolous and malicious in view of documents and records of procedures duly followed by the NCB that can subject to legal verification.

    “The NCB reiterates that its procedure has been and will continue to be professionally and legally transparent and unbiased as all the suspect/accused persons have been treated at par and in accordance with the law,” he said.

    When asked about allegations, Singh said he will not comment on what other people are saying about the NCB.

    “The NCB is a responsible organisation. Whatever we say, we say it based on the proofs and evidence. We are doing our work honestly and dedicatedly,” he said.

    Singh said independent public witnesses are mandatorily required to be present during any seizure operations as per the set legal procedure.

    Malik had claimed that a man named (K P) ‘Gosavi’, who is seen escorting Aryan Khan in one of the videos, was not an NCB official, and his social media profile states that he is a private detective based in Kuala Lumpur.

    He had also said that two men were seen escorting Arbaaz Merchant, also arrested in the case, in another video, and one of them is a member of the BJP, (later identified as Manish Bhanushali).

    Singh said the NCB strongly adheres to the legal procedure and involves at least two independent witnesses in all its seizure operations.

    “As the operations are conducted on a real-time basis, so the field verification of independent witnesses is not possible as the main focus is on drug recovery,” he said.

    Singh said a total of nine independent witnesses were involved in the whole operation (cruise ship raid) and Manish Bhanushali and K P Gosavi were among them.

    “None of the Independent witnesses, including the two (Bhanushhali and Gosavi) were known to the NCB before October 2,” he said.

    Later in a statement, Singh said a total of 14 persons were brought to the NCB zonal office (in Mumbai) for examination.

    “All of them were served notice under section 67, examined thoroughly and their statements were recorded,” Singh said.

    Eight persons were arrested and the remaining six persons were let off since no incriminating evidence was found against them, he stated and added that the other six “can be associated if the need arises in the investigation as per law”.

    As panchnamas were made at the respective spots, hence the place, timing, situation and resources may differ, he added.

    Singh stated that these documents are a matter of court record and have been produced in the court and will be part of a charge sheet in future.

    “Hence all such documents are part of a transparent legal procedure open to scrutiny at appropriate fora,” he added.

    Meanwhile, Sameer Wankhede said those are the independent witnesses.

    “Whatever they (who are raising allegations) want to say let them say. We will speak before the court,” he said without taking any names. 

    Wankhede said the case is sub-judice and the investigation is underway.

    The NCB will follow the orders of the court, he added.

    “The NCB is an independent and professional agency. We did not see any political party and religion and we do our job professionally,” he added.

    On Friday, a metropolitan magistrate’s court in Mumbai rejected bail applications of Aryan Khan and two others, following which he was sent to the Arthur Road prison.