Maharashtra minister Nawab Malik's security tightened after threat calls

Malik also claimed that the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) was trying to “frame” him by involving his son-in-law Sameer Khan in a drug peddling case.

Maharashtra minister and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Nawak Malik said on Thursday the state government has upgraded his security after he claimed he has been receiving threat calls following the press conference he conducted last week on the Narcotics Control Bureau’s (NCB’s) raid on a cruise ship.

NCP chief spokesperson Nawab Malik. (File photo)

Malik also claimed that the NCB was trying to “frame” him by involving his son-in-law Sameer Khan in a drug peddling case. He claimed that rumours regarding the recovery of ganja and drugs were spread by the anti-drug agency despite none of it was recovered from his son-in-law's possession. The Maharashtra minister said they are moving court against the agency, the harassment meted out to them, and for quashing the case.

"BJP leaders have been targeting me by saying that I am defaming the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) to take revenge over the arrest of my son-in-law. Since the last press conference, which was held on October 9, I have been getting threatening calls. This is why the state government upgraded my security," news agency ANI quoted Malik as saying during a press conference on Thursday.

"The NCB had arrested my son-in-law (Sameer Khan) earlier in July. When his house was raided by the NCB, there was no recovery but still there were rumours that ganja and drugs were recovered. It was done by NCB to defame me," he said.

"Hearing Khan's bail application, the court released him in September. My whole family including my daughter was in trauma," he added.

Nawab Malik, in his presser on October 9, claimed that the NCB had initially detained 11 persons from a Goa-bound cruise ship off Mumbai coast, but let off three of them, including the brother-in-law of BJP leader Mohit Bharatiya, a couple of hours later. He also termed the NCB's raid on the cruise as "fake, planned and conspired to defame the film industry and the Maharashtra government". He alleged that there exists a connection between the Zonal Director of NCB Mumbai unit and BJP leaders.