Cruise drugs party organisers took nod from Centre: Nawab Malik

PTI, Oct 27, 2021, 3:39 PM IST

Maharashtra minister and NCP leader Nawab Malik on Wednesday claimed the Cordelia cruise drugs party organisers had taken permission directly from the “directorate of shipping” at the Centre and not the state police or the state home department.

Speaking to reporters here, Malik also claimed that a member of an international drugs mafia was present on the same cruise, and asked how come he was moving scot-free, while some others were arrested, following a raid on the ship earlier this month. Malik also said if the Narcotics Control Bureau Mumbai zonal director Sameer Wankhede’s birth certificate, which the minister had posted online to claim the official forged documents to secure job, turns out false, then he will resign from his ministerial post and retire as a politician.

The Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) raided the cruise ship off the Mumbai coast on October 2 during which drugs were allegedly seized. Later, Aryan Khan, actor Shah Rukh Khan’s son, and some others were arrested. Malik has repeatedly termed the cruise drug bust case as “fake” and levelled a string of allegations against Wankhede, who led the raid.

On Wednesday, the minister said, “The Cordelia cruise drugs party organisers—Fashion TV— had not taken any permission from the Maharashtra Police or the state home department. They obtained the permission directly from the directorate of shipping, which comes under the Union Ministry for Ports, Shipping and Waterways.” Malik said, “I believe that a top committee of NCB officials from Delhi has arrived here. They should check the call detail records of personal phones of NCB zonal director Sameer Wankhede, (witnesses) K P Gosavi, Prabhakar Sail and Wankhede’s driver Mane. You will need no recording of statements. The phone calls will be self-explanatory.”

The minister also claimed that a member of an international drugs mafia was present on the same cruise. “There are some of videos of the party in which the person, sporting a beard, can been seen. I am told he was in the Tihar Jail (Delhi) and in a Rajasthan jail in the past. The NCB’s Delhi team should check the CCTV cameras of the cruise. How come a few people were arrested and the international level drugs mafia (member) is moving scot-free?” the NCP spokesperson asked. Malik also said that if Wankhede’s birth certificate, which he had posted on social media, turns out to be false, then “I will resign from my post and retire as a politician”. “If my claims are true, then Sameer Wankhede should at least apologise to me and my family. He will lose his job for sure,” the minister said.

Malik had earlier levelled a number of allegations against Sameer Wankhede and also accused him of illegal phone tapping and forging his documents to secure job. Wankhede, who visited the NCB office in Delhi on Tuesday, has denied the allegations.