BJP leader's brother-in-law among two let off by NCB after cruise ship raid, claims NCP
Mumbai(PTI): Stepping up its attack on the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB), the NCP on Friday alleged that the anti-drug agency let off two persons after a raid on a cruise ship off Mumbai coast recently, with one of them being the brother-in-law of a "high-profile" BJP leader.
Targeting NCB's zonal director Sameer Wankhede, NCP spokesperson and Maharashtra minister Nawab Malik also raised questions on the conduct of the agency's officials.
"After the raid, NCB officer Sameer Wankhede said 8-10 people were held. How can an official who conducts an entire operation give an indefinite answer? If 10 people were held then why were two people let off. And of the two, one was brother-in-law of a high-profile BJP leader," Malik alleged.
The allegations by the Sharad Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) against the NCB, a central agency, comes a day after the I-T department raided the premises of commercial entities linked to its party leader and state Deputy Chief minister Ajit Pawar.
Malik said he would address a press conference on Saturday to reveal the name of the BJP leader whose brother-in-law was let off by the NCB.
He said the motive behind the I-T department's raids on entities linked to Pawar was to malign him.
On Wednesday, Malik had dubbed the NCB's October 2 raid on the cruise ship as "fake" and alleged that no narcotic drugs were found during it. The NCB has so far arrested 18 people, including Aryan Khan, son of Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan, after allegedly seizing drugs from the Goa-bound ship on Saturday.
Notably, Malik's son-in-law Sameer Khan had been arrested by the NCB on January 13 in an alleged drug case. He got bail in September.
The NCP shares power with the Shiv Sena and the Congress in the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government in the state.
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Vijay unable to prove majority, not invited for CM oath ceremony: Sources
Chennai: Actor-politician Vijay has reportedly not been invited to take oath as Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu after failing to demonstrate support from the required number of MLAs, sources in Raj Bhavan said.
According to media reports that quoted sources in the office of R.N. Ravi Arlekar, Vijay could not prove the backing of 118 legislators, the majority mark in the 234-member Tamil Nadu Assembly.
Despite last-minute efforts to secure support from the Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK), Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazagam (AMMK), and an IUML legislator, Vijay reportedly managed support from only 116 MLAs, falling short by two members.
Sources said Vijay failed to submit letters of support from the VCK and the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML).
Later, the IUML issued a statement clarifying that it was not part of the TVK-led alliance.
Meanwhile, AMMK leader T.T.V. Dhinakaran is also said to have informed the Governor that his party would support the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) instead.
Earlier in the evening, Vijay had met Governor Arlekar and staked claim to form the government, stating that he enjoyed the support of 118 MLAs.
