On Wednesday, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) spokesperson Nawab Malik had alleged that BJP leaders were involved in the raid conducted on a Mumbai cruise ship by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) on Saturday night. Malik then continued to share videos via Twitter to reiterate his claim.
On 2 October, the NCB had conducted a raid on a cruise ship off the coast of Mumbai and arrested actor Shah Rukh Khan's son Aryan Khan, Arbaaz Merchantt, Munmun Dhamecha, and fiver others. The eight accused were sent to NCB custody till 7 October.
Following up on those allegations, Malik shared a video on social media with the caption, "Here is the video of Kiran P Gosavi and Manish Bhanushali entering the NCB office the same night the cruise ship was raided.”
Kiran P Gosavi is a reportedly a private investigator and Manish Bhanushali is said to be an incumbent BJP office-bearer.
Nawab Malik also alleged that the agency wanted to “frame” two people, referring to statements made by NCB official Sameer Wankhede.
In a separate tweet, Nawab Malik wrote, "Sameer Wankhede's statement where he said eight to 10 people have been arrested... while eight were arrested. Why was he not sure? Did they have an intention to frame two more?" In the tweet, he shared Wankhede’s interaction with the press.
During a press conference on Wednesday, Malik had claimed that KP Gosavi was seen bringing in Shah Rukh Khan’s son Aryan Khan to the NCB office. Malik had also said that Gosavi had clicked a selfie with Aryan, which later went viral.
NCB Responds to Allegations
Reacting to these claims, the NCB released a statement saying that the person in the selfie wasn’t affiliated with the agency. Malik had shared a screenshot of Gosavi’s social media profile wherein the latter claims he is a ‘private detective’.
Malik had also alleged that Manish Bhanushali was the one who escorted Arbaaz Merchantt to the NCB office. The NCB told the media that the two individuals are 'independent witnesses', and Bhanushali told ANI that he would sue Malik for defamation.
Prime Importance is NDPS Act: NCB Zonal Director Sameer Wankhede
The NCP had also alleged that NCB’s raid on the cruise ship was “fraudulent”. Responding to these allegations regarding NCB’s credibility, NCB Zonal Director Sameer Wankhede told Times of India, "We are a highly competent and professional agency. For us, the prime importance is the NDPS act irrespective of the person or his standing."
NDTV reported that Bhanushali said he doesn’t hold an official position within the BJP and was at the raid for “updated information.” NCB Deputy Director-General Gyaneshwar Singh said that allegations against the NCB have been made with ‘probable prejudice’.
(At The Quint, we question everything. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member today.)