R Krishna Das
Seasoned politicians are usually reluctant to react on any controversial subject. But Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader and Maharashtra Minister Nawab Malik seems to be an exception.
The exposure of the Mumbai cruise drug case and the development unfolding thereafter has raised suspicions whether any attempt is going on to divert the case from Aryan, the son of actor Shah Rukh Khan and one of the accused in the sensational scandal.
While the top politicians in Mumbai remained mum, it was Nawab Malik who took the lead and openly came out in support of Aryan. But the diversified stand of Malik has propelled experts to believe whether it is a part of a larger strategy to divert the case from Aryan.
The customs officer, Sameer Wankhede, who led the team to expose the case, was the first target of Malik. Besides the official, Malik levelled serious personal allegations against the officer. But a section of society and even politicians came to Wankhede’s support, Malik trained his gun towards Devendra Fadnavis, the former Chief Minister of Maharashtra and Leader of Opposition.
Without any context, he accused Fadnavis’ wife of having links with the drug mafia. The allegation was bound to get a response as it sparked off political controversy and Fadnavis “exposed” Nawab’s links with the underworld. Maharashtra Minister had been waiting for the moment and Tuesday night issued a statement that he would detonate a “hydrogen bomb” and reveal startling links of Fadnavis with the underworld.
Interestingly, the Mumbai cruise drug case has now been diverted to counterfeit notes scam.
Malik today held a press conference and alleged Devendra Fadnavis has been in the business of counterfeit notes in Maharashtra during his tenure as Chief Minister. Under his patronage, the business has expanded to Pakistan and Bangladesh, he said, adding that after demonetisation on November 8, 2016, counterfeit notes were seized at many places in the country, but not a single case was reported in Maharashtra for a whole year.
Malik charged that on October 8, 2017, in a raid in Maharashtra, over 14 crore 56 lakh counterfeit notes were seized. A case was registered and bail was granted within a few days. The matter was not referred to the NIA, he added.
The accusation of Malik from Wankheda to Fadnavis gives an overt reference to a meticulously planned strategy. For, the points raised by Malik have no link to the drug case.
The plan could be gauged by the recent move of Malik. Giving another twist, he alleged that an attempt was made to kidnap Aryan Khan for ransom that failed.
Could anyone buy this theory? Malik would have to respond why Aryan was shortlisted for abduction when there were many bigshots in the cruise!
