Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Nawab Malik on Thursday lashed out at the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) alleging collusion between the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the agency in the Aryan Khan drug case.

Addressing a press conference over the issue, the NCP leader said that the cruise drug bust which led to the arrest of Aryan Khan, the son of Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan seems like a fake case.

“The pictures released by the NCB as evidence in the Aryan Khan case were taken from its Zonal Director Sameer Wankhede’s office. These pictures were not from the spot and this shows that there was no seizure on the cruise. It seems a fake case for publicity,” Malik said.

A photograph of Aryan Khan with an unknown person had gone viral, with many claiming on social media that he was an NCB official. The NCB, however, later clarified that he was not with the anti-drug agency.

Malik, has now alleged, that the ‘bald’ person in the photograph is a BJP member. In another video, a person named Manish Bhanushali was also seen at the NCB office during the probe. The NCP leader claimed Bhanushali, too, is a BJP worker.

For the unversed, an NCB team busted an alleged drugs party on the Cordelia Cruise ship which was on its way to Goa at mid-sea on October 2.

Eight persons including Aryan Khan were detained for questioning by the NCB allegedly in connection with the drug seizure on the cruise ship. A day ago, a Mumbai court ordered Aryan Khan and others to be remanded in NCB’s custody until October 7.

‘BJP trying to malign Bollywood via agencies’

Referring to the NCB drug probe related to the death of Bollywood actor Sushant Singh Rajput, the NCP leader further alleged that the central agency is trying to defame Maharashtra and the film industry in Mumbai. 

“NCB was formed to look after different states and also international drug cases. NCB Mumbai is in the news since the SSR case. The way SSR case was registered outside the jurisdiction in Bihar. It was a murder case that was registered…It was an attempt to malign the film industry,” he said.

“Bollywood was targeted…A perception was made that entire Bollywood was into drugs…In that only, on October 3, this cruise liner raid story broke…Then gossips started mega star’s son was detained,” he added.

NCB dismisses Malik’s allegations

Meanwhile, the NCB has rejected the allegations levelled by the NCP leader against the anti-drug agency calling them baseless.

“Some allegations levelled against the organisation are baseless and seem to have been with malice and probable prejudice that may have been harboured in retaliation against earlier legal action carried out by NCB,” said NCB Deputy DG Gyaneshwar Singh.

“NCB reiterates that our procedure has been and will continue to be professionally and legally transparent and unbiased,” he added. 

Singh further stated that the NCB Mumbai team raided international cruise terminal Green Gate Mumbai and Cordelia Cruise ship and intercepted eight persons on the spot along with various drugs like cocaine, charas, MDMA.

“If they (NCP) want to go the court, they can go and seek justice. We will reply there. We have done everything as per law,” the NCB official added.