Maharashtra minister and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Nawab Malik's son-in-law Sameer Khan has sent a legal notice to former state chief minister and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Devendra Fadnavis for "defamatory and false allegations against him" and demanded Rs 5 crore in damages "on account of mental torture, agony and financial loss".
Khan had been arrested in January this year in a drugs-related case but was granted bail on 27 September, citing lack of evidence after eight and a half months.
Malik had then launched a scathing attack on the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) in October, accusing the drug agency of implicating his son-in-law in a fake drugs case.
Malik's daughter Nilofer took to Twitter to share the notice and wrote that "false accusations ruin lives", adding that they will not back down.
In the legal notice shared on Twitter, Khan has accused Fadnavis of making a statement on ABP News alleging that drugs had been found in his possession, a "baseless" claim, without "any merits". The notice said that the charge sheet filed by the NCB had stated no such thing, adding that the agency had also not found any contraband in the house or in Khan's possession.
In light of Fadnavis' allegations, Khan suffered "mental agonies" and torture, while his wife and and children were equally affected, the notice read.
Commenting on the notice, Malik on Thursday said, “My daughter has sent a legal notice to former CM and BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis over his allegation that drugs were found at our residence. We will file a defamation case against Fadnavis if he will not apologise to us.”
This comes at a time when Malik and Fadnavis are engaged in a war of words. While Fadnavis on Tuesday accused Malik of having had dealings over property with people from the underworld who have been convicted in the 1993 Mumbai bomb blasts case, the latter on Wednesday alleged that Fadnavis had connections with the underworld. The NCP leader also alleged that the BJP leader was attempting to defend NCB official Sameer Wankhede.
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