News Analysis India

Tag: NCP

  • Aryan Khan cruise drugs case: Alleged middle man Sunil Patil names BJP leader as master-mind 

    By Express News Service

    MAHARASHTRA: Sunil Patil, the alleged middle man in the cruise drugs case involving Aryan Khan, has claimed that he has no connection with Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) officer, Sameer Wankhede and the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP).

    BJP leader Mohit Kamboj had earlier alleged that the Aryan Khan’s drug case master-mind is Sunil Patil who is connected with NCP. Sunil Patil clarified that he had no connection with Aryan Khan’s case and NCP.

    “The real master-mind behind Aryan Khan case is BJP leader Manish Bhanushali, Dhiraj Bhanushali, Niraj Yadav, and Sam Desouza. The tip-off of the rave party at the cruise ship was given by Niraj Yadav from Madhya Pradesh who is close to senior BJP leader Kailash Vijayvargiya. When this case happened, I was not in Mumbai. I was away in Ahmedabad for my personal work,” Sunil Patil claimed.

    Patil also alleged that Manish Bhanushali who is a witness in the Aryan Khan case threatened him in a Delhi hotel.

    “I was in Ahmedabad, but Manish Bhanushali and Dhiraj Bhanushali called me to Delhi and pressurized that I should record the video message in favour of NCB. When I refused to do so, they beat me up badly. They even told me that they have big connections which would help them come out from this crisis,” Patil alleged.

    Sunil Patil further alleged, “Since I left the NCP in 2016, I was working separately. Initially, Sam Desouza shared the tip of the rave party on Cruise with me and told me to ask the Maharashtra government to conduct the raid but I refused saying he has no relation with anyone in this regard.”

    Patil also said that he is ready to record his statement before the police and any investigation agency. Patil is a resident of Dhule.

  • NCP leaders’ close aide Sunil Patil masterminded drugs-on-cruise episode: BJP leader

    Bharatiya, a former general secretary of Mumbai BJP, also claimed that Kiran Gosavi, a witness of the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) in the drugs-on-cruise case, is an associate of Sunil Patil.

  • Key decisions by Uddhav government helped in bringing down COVID: Pawar

    Pawar was talking to reporters at 'Govind Baug', his residence at Baramati in Pune district, on the occasion of his family's get-together for Diwali celebration.

  • Ex-Maharashtra Minister Anil Deshmukh remanded to ED custody till November 6 in money laundering case

    By PTI

    MUMBAI: A Mumbai court on Tuesday remanded former Maharashtra home minister Anil Deshmukh to Enforcement Directorate (ED) custody till November 6.

    Deshmukh, arrested by ED late Monday night after over 12 hours of questioning in a money-laundering case linked to an alleged extortion racket in the state police establishment, was produced for remand before additional sessions judge P B Jadhav, who presided over the special holiday court.

    Before producing him in court, the prosecuting agency took the NCP leader to the state-run J J Hospital here for a regular medical checkup.

    The ED had initiated a probe against Deshmukh and his associates after the CBI filed its FIR against the NCP leader on April 21 this year on charges of corruption and misuse of official position.

    The ED’s case is that Deshmukh, while serving as the state’s home minister, misused his official position and through dismissed cop Sachin Waze collected Rs 4.70 crore from various bars and restaurants in Mumbai.

    The ED has also arrested two other persons in the case – Sanjeev Palande (additional collector rank official who was working as Deshmukh’s private secretary) and Kundan Shinde (Deshmukh’s personal assistant).

  • Param Bir Singh left India with Centre’s help, claims Sena MP Sanjay Raut

    By PTI

    MUMBAI: Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut on Tuesday claimed that IPS officer Param Bir Singh has not absconded but made to move out of the country, which he could not have done without the Centre’s help.

    Speaking to reporters here, Raut also said former Maharashtra home minister Anil Deshmukh was arrested by a central agency based on Singh’s allegations, and this was “very unfortunate and unethical”.

    Deshmukh’s party NCP shares power with the Shiv Sena and Congress in Maharashtra.

    Param Bir Singh is facing investigation in a number of matters, including some extortion cases registered by the Maharashtra Police.

    Recently, two non-bailable warrants were issued against him in different extortion cases in Mumbai and neighbouring Thane.

    Singh was shunted out from the post of Mumbai police commissioner in March this year in the aftermath of the recovery of an SUV with explosives near industrialist Mukesh Ambani’s residence in south Mumbai and the arrest of dismissed police officer Sachin Waze in the case.

    Singh later accused the then state home minister Anil Deshmukh of corruption.

    The Maharashtra government recently told the Bombay High Court that it did not know of Singh’s whereabouts.

    On Tuesday, Raut said, “When a person serving on a post equivalent to the director general of police moves out of the country, he cannot do so without the support of the Union government. He has not absconded, but made to move out of the country. ”

    :Based on his (Param Bir Singh’s) allegations, the central agencies have arrested former home minister Anil Deshmukh. It is very unfortunate as his arrest is unethical,” he said.

    Raut said on the basis of allegations, an investigation can be carried out, but Deshmukh was arrested on the first day of inquiry by officials of the Enforcement Directorate (ED).

    “I think it is a pre-planned strategy to harass, defame and indulge in mud-slinging of key leaders of the MVA government (in Maharashtra),” the Rajya Sabha member said.

    Deshmukh was arrested by the ED late Monday night after over 12 hours of questioning in the money laundering case linked to an alleged extortion racket in the state police establishment.

    Notably, former Maharashtra minister Ashish Shelar on Tuesday claimed that the MVA government may have helped Param Bir Singh to flee and could be “preparing ground for him to seek political asylum” in a western country.

  • Money laundering: Former Maharashtra minister Anil Deshmukh’s questioning continues beyond midnight 

    By PTI

    MUMBAI: Former Maharashtra home minister Anil Deshmukh’s questioning by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in a money laundering case continued beyond midnight on Monday, November 1, 2021.

    Deshmukh reached the ED office in south Mumbai at around 11.50 am along with his lawyer.

    The 71-year-old NCP leader was still inside the central agency office as of midnight.

    The federal probe agency is recording his statement under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) in connection with the criminal investigation being carried out by it in the alleged Rs 100 crore bribery-cum-extortion racket in the Maharashtra Police establishment that led to Deshmukh’s resignation in April, officials said.

    ED joint director Satyavrat Kumar was seen entering the agency’s office along with some other officers at around 9 pm.

    The former minister had skipped at least four summonses issued by the ED in the case, but after the Bombay High Court last week refused to quash them, he appeared before the agency.

    The ED’s case against Deshmukh and others came after the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) booked him in a corruption case related to allegations levelled by former Mumbai police commissioner Param Bir Singh.

    The NCP leader has rejected all allegations against him.

    The politician has said Singh made the allegations against him after he was removed from the post of Mumbai police commissioner in March this year.

    Earlier in the day, Deshmukh claimed a false narrative was being created by “vested interests’ that he was avoiding appearance before the ED.

    In a statement released after he entered the ED office, Deshmukh claimed a “witch-hunt” has been launched at the instance of certain “inimical interests”, by people who have absolutely no credibility, honour or pride.

    The NCP leader further said he has only sought a transparent, fair and an objective probe without any fear or favour.

    Slamming Singh without taking his name, Deshmukh said “unscrupulous persons” are themselves knee-deep involved in several rackets of corruption.

    “The principal person who held the high office of Commissioner of Police is now a wanted absconding criminal,” Deshmukh said.

    On Sunday, the CBI took into custody one Santosh Jagtap in connection with the case of alleged corruption against Deshmukh, making it the first arrest in the high-profile case, officials earlier said.

    The agency arrested Jagtap, an alleged middleman, from Thane, they said, adding the accused was evading the probe even after the issuance of non-bailable warrants against him last month. 

  • False narrative being created by ‘vested interests’ that I am avoiding to appear before ED: Anil Deshmukh

    By PTI

    MUMBAI: Former Maharashtra home minister Anil Deshmukh on Monday claimed a false narrative was being created by “vested interests” that he was avoiding to appear before the Enforcement Directorate (ED), in connection with its probe into a money laundering case.

    The NCP leader said he is keen to present himself before “unbiased authorities”.

    In a statement released after he entered the ED’s office here on Monday, Deshmukh further claimed that a “witch-hunt” has been launched at the instance of certain “inimical interests”, by people who have absolutely no credibility, honur or pride.

    “A false narrative, an erroneous impression, is being created by these vested interests that I am evading or avoiding to appear before the Enforcement Directorate. Undoubtedly, such propaganda is absolutely baseless,” Deshmukh said.

    The NCP leader further said he has only sought a transparent, fair and an objective probe without any fear or favour.

    “I am keen to appear before such unbiased authorities and expose the falsity of the accusations that have been levelled against me with a fervent hope that the officers of the Enforcement Directorate shall rise up to the occasion and act in a fair manner, and also lay go rest the misgivings about my cooperation with the investigations,” the letter said.

    Officials of the probe agency said they will record the statement of the 71-year-old NCP leader under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), in connection with the criminal investigation being carried out by it in the alleged Rs 100 crore bribery-cum-extortion racket in the Maharashtra Police establishment, that led to Deshmukh’s resignation from the post of state home minister in April this year.

    Deshmukh had skipped at least four summons issued by the ED in the case, but after the Bombay High Court last week refused to quash these summons, he appeared before the agency on Monday.

    The ED’s case against Deshmukh and others came after the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) registered a corruption case against him related to allegations of bribery made by former Mumbai police commissioner Param Bir Singh.

    Slamming Singh without taking his name, Deshmukh said “unscrupulous persons” are themselves knee-deep involved in several rackets of corruption.

    “The principal person who held the high office of Commissioner of Police is now a wanted absconding criminal,” Deshmukh said.

    A magistrate’s court on Saturday issued a non-bailable warrant (NBW) against Singh in an alleged extortion case registered in suburban Goregaon.

    Prior to it, a court in neighbouring Thane district last week issued an NBW against Singh in connection with another extortion case registered against him.

    On Sunday, the CBI also took into custody one Santosh Jagtap in connection with a case of alleged corruption against Deshmukh, making it the first arrest in the high-profile case, officials earlier said.

    The agency arrested Jagtap, an alleged middleman, from Thane, they said, adding that the accused was evading the probe even after the issuance of non-bailable warrants against him last month.

  • Nawab Malik tweets pics of Devendra Fadnavis with alleged drug peddler; ex-CM says will expose minister

    By PTI

    MUMBAI: Maharashtra minister and NCP leader Nawab Malik on Monday sought to link the BJP with an alleged narcotics dealer by tweeting the latter’s photograph with former chief minister Devendra Fadnavis’ wife Amruta Fadnavis.

    Devendra Fadnavis, however, said Malik’s tweet reflected his mentality and claimed that he will burst a bomb after Diwali by making revelations about the minister’s underworld links, which he will also share with NCP president Sharad Pawar.

    In a series of tweets, Malik, who has been targeting the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) after it raided a cruise ship last month and claimed to have seized drugs onboard, posted a photograph of Amruta Fadnavis with an alleged drug peddler.

    He also posted a similar photograph of Devendra Fadnavis with alleged the drug dealer.

    Let’s have a discussion of links between BJP and drug peddler, Malik tweeted, referring to the photograph of Amruta Fadnavis with the person. In another tweet, the minister said the person was Jaideep Rana.

    Photograph of Jaideep Rana with Ex Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis pic.twitter.com/Sxo1diTalX
    — Nawab Malik نواب ملک नवाब मलिक (@nawabmalikncp) November 1, 2021
    Later, talking to reporters, Devendra Fadnavis said the creative team of River March, an organisation working for the conservation of rivers in Mumbai, had hired this person four years ago. Fadnavis was then the chief minister of the state.

    The former CM said he and his wife were associated with the cause of river rejuvenation.

    The pictures were clicked during the shooting of a theme song. There are photos along with the team, not only with my wife, but also with me. But, Nawab Malik consciously shared the photograph of my wife. This reflects his mentality, the leader of opposition in the state Assembly said.

    Those people who have been photographed were brought by the ‘River March’ (organisation). There are no links of these people with me or my wife. he said.

    Amruta Fadnavis, a banker by profession who also released her singing album in the past, has been a vocal critic of the ruling Maha Vikas Aghadi in the state (comprising the Shiv Sena, NCP and Congress), and has often taken to Twitter to launch attacks on the state government.

    ​ALSO READ | My fight against Wankhede’s fraud, says Nawab Malik as Uddhav government mulls probe against NCB official

    “The cracker just before the Diwali was a damp squib and it gives an impression that Malik has made some big revelation, Devendra Fadnavis said, referring to the photograph of his wife with the alleged drug peddler. I don’t stay in a house of glass, and those having links with the underworld and drugs should not talk to me. I will furnish all the proof after Diwali. Law will take its own course, the senior BJP leader said. Just after the former CM’s press conference, Malik tweeted, We are ready.

    Devendra Fadnavis also said Malik’s attack on the NCB is an attempt to put pressure on officials of the anti-drugs agency so that the case against the NCP leader’s son-in-law is weakened.

    Malik’s son-in-law Sameer Khan was arrested by the NCB earlier this year in a drugs case and was later granted bail by a court.

    Devendra Fadnavis said Malik referred to the BJP’s drug connection .

    He said if one goes by that logic, then the entire NCP can be termed as a drug mafia , as Malik’s son-in-law was arrested by the NCB in an alleged drugs case, but he would not label the Sharad Pawar-led party with such terms.

    If a photo of an unrelated man (alleged drug peddler) surfaces and makes one a drug mafia, then then what should one call a party when drug is seized, the BJP leader said, referring to the arrest of Sameer Khan by the NCB. 

  • Nawab Malik says he published photos of Sameer Wankhede’s former wife with her consent

    By PTI

    MUMBAI: Maharashtra minister and NCP leader Nawab Malik on Friday claimed that he made public the photos of the first wife of NCB officer Sameer Wankhede with her prior consent.

    The minister also said he has never said anything against Wankhede’s current wife, actor Kranti Redkar, and she should not play the “Marathi card”.

    Malik was asked by reporters whether it was appropriate on his part to use the photos of Dr Shabana Qureshi, the first wife of Sameer Wankhede, when the couple had divorced by mutual consent some years ago.

    Some BJP leaders too had raised this point.

    The NCP leader said when he received the photos from someone, he was told that the person (in the photographs) had agreed that they could be used.

    “Dr Shabana Qureshi was never willing to come forward or speak over this issue (earlier). When Sameer Wankhede started stressing that he is Hindu, they had to speak up. Her father then told everyone that they always knew Wankhede family as being Muslim,” Malik said.

    The state minority affairs minister also said he never made any comment or allegation against Kranti Redkar.

    “While she has been playing the Marathi card, I want to underscore the fact that I and my family have been living in Maharashtra for almost 70 years. Am I not a Maharashtrian?” said the NCP leader.

    Redkar should not forget that her husband was “part of a conspiracy to defame Maharashtra and Mumbai,” Malik further said.

    “I do not think a person will be saved only because he is a Maharashtrian, even if he belongs to certain caste or religion,” he added.

    Malik has levelled several allegations against Wankhede, the zonal director of the Narcotics Control Bureau, following a raid by the NCB on a cruise ship during which drugs were allegedly recovered and actor Shah Rukh Khan’s son Aryan was arrested along with others.

    The minister claimed that Wankhede got a government job in the Scheduled Castes category even when he was Muslim by birth.

    The NCB official has maintained that he is Hindu.

  • Would rather talk to Kashmir’s youth for development: Shah on NC chief seeking talks with Pakistan

    By PTI

    SRINAGAR: Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Monday hit out at National Conference president Farooq Abdullah for seeking talks with Pakistan, saying the government would rather talk to the youth of Jammu and Kashmir for making it the most developed in the country.

    The home minister, who is on a visit to Jammu and Kashmir — his first since the abrogation of Article 370 in August 2019 — remotely inaugurated several development projects and laid the foundation stone of some.

    “I read in newspapers that Farooq Abdullah has suggested that the government should talk to Pakistan. He has a right to his opinion but we would rather talk to the Kashmiri youth,” Shah said while addressing a function at the SKICC here.

    “The repealing of Article 370 had only one intention — to put Kashmir, Jammu and newly created Ladakh (Union Territory) on the path of development. You will see the fruits of our efforts by 2024,” he said.

    The article, which granted special status to the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir, was abrogated in August 2019 and the state was bifurcated into union territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh.

    Shah inaugurated a 500-bed hospital at Bemina, completed at a cost of Rs 115 crore, laid the foundation stone for the Handwara Medical College, a Rs 46-crore steel girder bridge over the Ferozepur Nallah in Baramulla district and road projects worth Rs 4,000 crore, among others.

    The home minister, who is on his Jammu and Kashmir visit’s third day, said that those who advocate talks with Islamabad and separatists should be asked what has Pakistan done in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK).

    “Compare the development between this side and PoK. Do they have electricity, roads, healthcare and toilets. There is nothing (on the other side). You (Kashmiris) have the same rights as any other Indian,” he said.

    Without naming the Congress, the National Conference and the Peoples’ Democratic Party, he said while only three medical colleges were set up by the “three families which have ruled Jammu and Kashmir”, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has ensured seven new medical colleges and these are coming up.

    “Earlier, 500 youths could become doctors. Now 2,000 youths can become doctors from these new medical colleges. Nobody will need to go to Pakistan to study medicine,” he said.

    Shah said the schemes and the plans of the Modi government will ensure that Jammu and Kashmir will be the most developed province of the country.

    He sought the cooperation of the people to realise this dream.

    “It is only the youth of Jammu and Kashmir who can work towards achieving this goal,” he said.

    Asserting that the government is aiming to wipe out terrorism from Jammu and Kashmir and put an end to civilian killings, Shah said nobody would be allowed to disrupt peace and development in the Union Territory, which has a special place in Prime Minister Modi’s heart.

    Defending the curbs on internet services and imposition of curfew in the aftermath of abrogation of Article 370, he said that “some people would have misled the masses. Who would have been killed? The Kashmiri youth. We know how heavy the coffin of a young son is for an old man”.

    He said that 40,000 people have been killed in Kashmir in violence and it should stop now.

    “This many people do not die even in wars. We have to come back and take Kashmir to new heights of development,” he said.

    The minister said Rs 12,000 crore worth of investment has already come to the Union Territory and the government aims at a total of Rs 51,000 crore by the end of 2022 to provide five lakh jobs to the local youth.

    Shah said “three families” are answerable to the people for their failure to develop Jammu and Kashmir over the past seven decades.

    “The new phase of development under the leadership of Modi has started in J&K but attempts are being made by inimical elements to create hurdles. I have come here to assure you that nobody will be able to create a hurdle and disrupt peace and development,” Shah said.

    He said a new phase of development has started and this cannot be stopped by anyone.

    Listing various steps taken by the government since the formation of the BJP government at the Centre, Shah said five lakh jobs are being created in Jammu and Kashmir, while 20,000 people have been provided government jobs in the past two years.

    “The three families used to say who will come and invest in J&K. In just six months after announcing a new industrial policy, we have got an investment of Rs 7,000 crore in Jammu and Rs 6,000 crore in Kashmir and are looking forward to an investment of Rs 50,000 crore by the end of 2022, the minister said.

    Targeting the “three families”, he said they were asking what the government is going to give to Jammu and Kashmir.

    “We have a long list of what we have given to J&K and the people know it very well but the people are demanding an answer from them as to what they have given to J&K despite ruling the erstwhile state for the past seven decades. Have you thought of anyone else other than your own family members?” Shah asked.