No Arrests Based on Caste, Religion, Political Party: NCB Refutes Malik’s Claims

"We arrest on the basis of evidence," said DDG Gyaneshwar Singh of the NCB while refuting Nawab Malik's claims.

NCP member and former housing minister Nawab Malik in a press conference on 9 October.

(Photo Courtesy: Twitter)

Nawab Malik, former housing minister and member of Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) has accused the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) of letting go of the people accused in the drugs case go because they had ties to the BJP.

In a press conference today, Malik said that the NCB had caught 11 people and detained them from the cruise ship party. Out of this, three people, Rishabh Sachdev, Pratik Gaba, and Aamir Furniturewala were released. Sachdev is the brother-in-law of former Bhartiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM) President Mohit Kamboj. Aamir Furniturewala and Pratik Gaba are friends of Sachdev and Aryan Khan who allegedly invited Khan to the party.

Malik further said, "We want to ask NCB that when they had detained 11 people after the cruise ship raid, then on whose directions did they release the 3 people? We demand NCB to reveal the facts. We think there might have been some talk between Sameer Wankhede and BJP leaders."

He has also called for an independent probe into the matter and said that he will write to CM Uddhav Thackeray for the same.

What the NCB Said

Soon after Malik's statement, NCB announced that they would address these claims in a press conference. Deputy Director General Gyaneshwar Singh has now refuted all claims made by Nawab Malik. He has said that 14 people were detained at the day of the party and six were let go because there was no incriminating evidence found against them.

He said that those six people will be called for questioning if the need arises. He also mentioned that nine independent witnesses were involved in the case, and the identity of each witness was not known to the agency until 2 October. He further clarified that the NCB does not make arrests based on the caste, religion, or political party of a person. "We arrest people on the basis of evidence."

Gyaneshwar Singh ended by saying that they cannot name more people in the case since it is an ongoing investigation, and that the agency had nothing to say as far as the statements of independent witnesses or goes.