Fadnavis shielded drug cartel, alleges Nawab Malik; former CM retorts

NCP leader and state minister Nawab Malik on Monday tweeted separate pictures of Jaydeep Rana, an alleged drug peddler, with former chief minister Devendra Fadnavis and his wife Amruta Fadnavis

Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader and state minister Nawab Malik on Monday tweeted separate pictures of Jaydeep Rana, an alleged drug peddler, with former chief minister Devendra Fadnavis and his wife Amruta Fadnavis. He also claimed that drug peddlers received protection under the previous government led by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

NCP leader and state minister Nawab Malik on Monday tweeted separate pictures of Jaydeep Rana, an alleged drug peddler, with former chief minister Devendra Fadnavis and his wife Amruta Fadnavis (PTI)

Fadnavis refuted all allegations and said he will “expose Malik’s links with the underworld” after Diwali.

Malik claimed on the microblogging site Twitter that Rana, who is currently jailed, has good relations with Fadnavis and that it was Rana who funded ‘Mumbai River Anthem’, a song for which Amruta lent her voice along with Bollywood singer Sonu Nigam. He also linked Sameer Wankhede, zonal director, Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) with Fadnavis, claiming that it was the former chief minister that brought Wankhede to Mumbai.

“Jaydeep Rana is linked with Devendraji,” Malik claimed. “When Fadnavis was chief minister, his wife Amruta released the music video in February 2018. The former CM, then finance minister Sudhir Mungantiwar, then Mumbai police commissioner Datta Padsalgikar and then Mumbai municipal commissioner Ajoy Mehta had also featured in the video.”

Malik added, “It was directed by Sachin Gupta, the creative head was Manish Khanka and the finance head was Jaydeep Rana. Claims that anyone can take a picture when you are in public life will not work in this case. There is also another picture where both (Rana and Devendra Fadnavis) can be seen together during Ganesh Chaturthi. I don’t know who visited whose residence then.”

Rana’s name was taken off the music video’s credits list from YouTube on Monday, soon after the allegations surfaced.

Devendra Fadnavis, now Maharashtra’s leader of opposition, hit back at Malik and said he will reveal the NCP leader’s underworld connection. “Malik has levelled baseless allegations against me and my wife. The accused (Rana) arrested a few days ago was engaged by River March for their social drive and it has already been clarified. The accused had nothing to do with us; we were just helping them in a social cause. The accused had taken pictures with me as well, but Malik is intentionally targeting my wife. It shows their culture,” he said.

Malik countered, saying, “The matter is not limited to this. It relates to a major drug business, and Fadnavis’ role in it needs to be probed… We are not questioning the photographs, but the music video’s funding. We demand an investigation either through a judicial commission or by the CBI.”

Malik’s other charge pertains to a certain Niraj Gunde’s alleged frequent visits to the NCB office in Mumbai. “Why is Fadnavis’ frontman Niraj Gunde frequently visiting the NCB office,” Malik asked. “Why were people close to BJP let off by NCB? Fadnavis knew everything. Some drug peddlers were also associated with BJP and I will expose their names one by one. I feel that a drug cartel used to run under his (Fadnavis’) protection,” Malik said.

Fadnavis said that what Malik revealed on Monday “is just a minor firecracker,” and that he (Fadnavis) will “burst a bomb against him after Diwali”. “I will prove his (Malik’s) underworld links after Diwali,” Fadnavis said. “Malik is trying to pressure the NCB by levelling allegations so that the chargesheet against his son-in-law (Sameer Khan) is rendered weak. However, the NCB will not buckle under any pressure. The law will take its course,” he added.

Fadnavis said that he knew Neeraj Gunde, but added that he has not committed any offence. “He is being targeted because he keeps exposing NCP on social media. It’s not just me, but even chief minister Uddhav Thackeray shares cordial relations with Gunde,” Fadnavis said.

Amruta Fadnavis said that the creative and technical staff members for the music video were “outsourced” and that “it was a noble cause for which she lent her support as a social activist.”

“River March approached me to participate in a project to rejuvenate four Mumbai rivers that have been reduced to nullahs,” Amruta Fadnavis said. “It was due to our effort that the BMC took some steps for the rejuvenation. All of us worked without remuneration. Instead of appreciating good work, we are being targeted. We are being dragged into politics. Only ‘Bigade Nawab’, his boss or superboss will be able to tell the reason behind this politics.”

Amruta Fadnavis said that if the name Rana has been taken down from the video, there was nothing wrong in doing so if they have realised that he was a negative person. “It was because of our efforts that the BMC took some steps for river rejuvenation. All of us worked without any remuneration. Instead of appreciating good work, we are being targeted. We are being dragged into politics. But, we will continue to do social work. Only ‘Bigade Nawab’, his boss or superboss will be able to tell the reason behind this politics,” she said.

Amruta Fadnavis said that if the name Rana has been taken down from the video, there was nothing wrong in doing so if they have realised that he was a negative person associated with.

“River March approached me for this project for the rejuvenation of four Mumbai rivers which were reduced to nullahs. It was because of our efforts that the BMC took some steps for the rejuvenation. All of us worked without any remuneration. Instead of appreciating good work, we are being targeted. We are being dragged into politics. But we will continue to do social work. Only ‘Bigade Nawab’ , his boss or superboss will be able to tell the reason behind this politics,” she said.

Political analyst Hemant Desai said Malik’s allegations are farfetched. “I don’t think the former chief minister (Devendra Fadnavis) can be linked with Jaydeep Rana because while working on a project it is difficult to conduct background checks of all the people involved directly or indirectly. Similar allegations were made when RR Patil was the home minister after his picture with a person with a criminal background went viral. Patil had said that the background of each and every person is not possible while attending a public event,” Desai said.

Maharashtra BJP chief Chandrakant Patil said Malik will have to face dire consequences for dragging BJP and Fadnavis into this controversy.

“Ever since the new (MVA) government was formed, Fadnavis’ frontman Niraj Gunde has been visiting offices of all central agencies right from enforcement directorate (ED), central bureau of investigation (CBI), income tax (I-T) and narcotics control bureau (NCB), money is being taken for transfers.

“Big drug peddlers such as Kashiff Khan were let off by NCB. Rishabh Sachdeva, Amir Furniturewala, Pratik Gaba are also allowed to go, I believe the entire drug business is following Fadnavis’ instructions. Who is Gaba? Why was he let off by NCB, in which hotels does he organise parties? The rate of each table is in lakhs. Gaba is the main character in this game, he is the mastermind of the drugs business,” he said.

Malik also claimed that Fadnavis ensured Wankhede is transferred to NCB, Mumbai linking their relations. “Fadnavis got Wankhede transferred to Mumbai NCB. He was brought in to frame innocents so that drug cartels can be run easily in Mumbai and Goa. Fadnavis was deciding what agency will investigate which case; who should be framed in a fake case, etc. It appears that his motive was to earn money.”

NCP’s MVA partner Shiv Sena said it supports Malik’s allegations against Fadnavis. Sena leader Sanjay Raut assailed the BJP saying it is indulging in unethical practises to gain political mileage. “An impression is being created that we have large scale cultivation of opium and marijuana. There was a false case filed against Nawab’s son-in-law,” Raut said. “We firmly stand behind him.”

‘When are you going to bomb Pakistan?’

Chief minister Uddhav Thackeray took a pot shot at Fadnavis without naming him while referring to his statement about “bursting bombs after Diwali.” “There is no need to wait for Diwali to burst a political bomb. Some people have said that they are going to burst a bomb after Diwali, but my question is when are they are going to bomb Pakistan. We are eagerly awaiting that,” he said.