National Congress Party (NCP) leader Nawab Malik, on Thursday, 7 October, announced that he will address a press conference on Saturday, 2 October, to “expose more wrongdoings of the NCB”.
This comes amid ongoing cases that were filed after a Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) raid took place onboard a Mumbai cruise on Saturday, with Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan's son Aryan Khan being one of those arrested.
While initially his tweet said that the press conference will take place at 3 pm on Friday, 1 October, it was later rescheduled to 12 pm on Friday, before he finally appeared to have settled on 12 pm on Saturday.
Explaining the reschedule, Malik said: “I am collecting more data and information to expose the wrongdoings of the NCB and therefore I am rescheduling my Press Conference.”
Will Share Proof of NCB Releasing BJP Leader's Son in Law: Nawab Malik
In an interview with NDTV, Malik has also reportedly said that he is slated to release evidence that will show that one of the people detained and later released by the NCB after the Mumbai drugs bust in a cruise ship was the in-law of a BJP leader.
"(Sameer) Wankhede (NCB's zonal director) after the raid that day said there were 8-10 people in NCB custody. Later in court, an officer brought three, and then five accused. An officer who conducted the raid is giving vague statements. Either it was eight or 10. Today, I am very sure that 10 people were detained that day. The NCB let off two people — one was the person who called everyone to the cruise ship for the raid but ended up being detained, and the other was an in-law of a BJP leader."Nawab Malik to NDTV
Previous Allegations
Earlier this week Malik alleged that BJP leaders are part of the NCB raid and claimed that a person named KP Gosavi was seen bringing in Aryan Khan to the NCB office. He also clicked selfie with Aryan, Malik told reporters. After the selfie went viral, NCB released a statement saying that the person has nothing to do with the agency. Malik shared a screenshot of Gosavi's Facebook profile, wherein the latter claims to be a 'private detective agent'.
Malik added that another video shows a person escorting Arbaaz Merchantt, who has been held along with Aryan, to the NCB office. He alleged that the said person is Manish Bhanushali, vice president of some wing of BJP. Malik also showed photos of the men with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah, Devendra Fadnavis and others.
Malik demanded that the NCB should answer as to what private people like Gosavi and Bhanushali were doing during a high-profile raid.
The minister further stated that Bhanushali was in Gujarat on 21 and 22 September when drugs were seized at the Mundra port.
Reacting to the allegations, the NCB told the media that the two individuals named by Malik are independent witnesses. One person in question, Manish Bhanushali, told ANI that he will file a defamation case against Malik and that BJP has nothing to do with the arrests.
'My Life is Under Threat in Maharashtra', Claims Bhanushali
Meanwhile, Bhanushali has told NDTV that all he wants is to save the youth, and claimed that his life is under threat in Maharashtra.
"I will go to the authorities asking for security. The BJP has got nothing to do with the arrests. In Maharashtra, my life is under threat. I have come to Delhi for my personal security," Bhanushali said, adding that he will ask authorities for security.
“In Maharashtra, my life is under threat.”
He also denied knowing that Aryan Khan was going to be present at the party.
(With inputs from NDTV and ANI)
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