Maharashtra Cabinet Minister Nawab Malik on Sunday levelled new allegations against Narcotics Control Bureau officer Sameer Wankhede and Mohit Kamboj, a BJP party member, claiming that Aryan Khan was kidnapped and brought to the cruise ship which was raided by the NCB.
Addressing a press conference, Malik alleged that Mohit Kamboj was the mastermind of the plot and Wankhede is his accomplice.
BOOM could not independently verify Malik's allegations.
Aryan Khan, son of actor Shah Rukh Khan, was arrested on October 3 from a cruise ship off the Mumbai coast in a drug bust.
Since Khan's arrest, Maharashtra Minister of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship Nawab Malik has raised allegations against Wankhede and his handling of the NCB's cases in Mumbai.
Wankhede, on the other hand, has alleged that Malik has been targeting him in retaliation for arresting Malik's son-in-law Sameer Khan in another drug case.
Malik said that Aryan did not purchase a ticket for the cruise but rather went alongwith Pratik Gaba and Amir Furniturewala.
"This case is one of kidnapping and ransom. A trap was laid using Mohit Kambhoj's nephew. Aryan khan was kidnapped and brought to the cruise after which attempt to extort Rs 25 crore began."
Malik claimed that deal was struck for Rs 18 crore of which Rs 50 lakh was transferred. However, a selfie ruined the plan. The selfie Malik referred to was the viral image that went viral of KP Gosavi and Aryan Khan while Khan was in NCB's custody. Gosavi, a private citizen was used by the NCB as a witness in the case.
Malik further alleged that Kamboj owns several restaurants in Mumbai and uses Wankhede to drive rival restaurants out of business by filing false cases.
Malik alleged that one of Wankhede's associates who had organised the cruise ship party has not been arrested even though a paper roll which the NCB allege was used to consume drugs had the branding of a company owned by Wankhede's associate.
"A paper roll which was used to consume drugs had the branding of a company owned by Kashif Khan. Khan is close to Wankhede and so has not been arrested. Khan also tried to lure children of politicians to the cruise. He also tried to force NCP leader Aslam Shaikh to come to the cruise but Shaikh did not go," Malik said.
Wankhede And His Private Army Allowing Drug Mafia To Flourish
Malik claimed that Wankhede has been abusing his position to extort money from rich families in Mumbai. He also named two officers from the NCB's Mumbai Zonal office, VV Singh and Ashish Ranjan as well as Wankhede's driver Mane of extorting money from people caught with drugs.
Malik alleged that Ranjan had demanded a Range Rover from his son-in-law Sameer Khan. Sameer Khan had been arrested by Wankhede.
The NCB had arrested Sameer Khan in January 2021 after seizing 200 kg of drugs, which Malik claimed were herbal tobacco. He was finally released on bail in September this year.
"Kamboj one of the players in Wankhede's private army. Wankhede wants the drug business to flourish in Mumbai. Drug mafias are protected and money is extorted from them. They get details drug users who belong to Bollywood families and other big families and extort thousands of crores from them."
Malik also named two persons, Pradeep Nambiar and RK Bajaj, alleging that the duo are a part of Wankhede's "private army" and have been involved in extorting money on Wankhede's behalf.
Malik tweeted two sting videos of Nambiar and Bajaj, claiming that they were allegedly extorting money from an individual involved in an NCB case.
In the video, Bajaj could be seen claiming that 100 grams of drugs can be planted and the individual will be unable to do anything. BOOM could not independently verify the veracity of the video tweeted by Malik.
Malik stated that he is not against the NCB nor the BJP and only wants drug mafia to be abolished in the city. He urged the BJP and the NCB not to shield "frauds" like Mohit Kamboj, Sunil Patil and Sameer Wankhede.
On November 5, the NCB announced that six cases, including the cruise ship drugs bust, were being taken over by the special investigation team (SIT) of officers from the Delhi operations unit as the cases had national and international ramifications.