Drug bust: Complaint filed against Nawab Malik for allegedly defaming BJP neta & family

Former Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM) Mumbai president Mohit Bharatiya filed a complaint against Maharashtra minorities minister and NCP leader Nawab Malik in a court for allegedly defaming him by making "baseless allegations" in connection with the Mumbai Cordelia cruise ship drug bust case. The complaint was filed in Metropolitan Magistrate court in Mazgaon under section 499 (defamation) and 500 (punishment for defamation) of the Indian Penal Code.

The BJP leader has alleged that Maharashtra Minister has defamed him and his family by shooting baseless allegations against them. As per the complaint, Nawab Malik had addressed media on October 9, "the narrative of which was to condemn the said raid by the NCB  at the Cordelia Cruise ship". The anti-drug agency arrested Aryan Khan and others after recovering drugs during the raid on October 2.

The accused (Malik) was sore with the central agency as they had arrested his son-in-law Sameer Khan in connection with a narcotics bust in January this year, the complaint said. "During the said press conference, Malik purposefully and intentionally defamed the complainant and his brother-in-law Rishabh Sachdev to further the agenda that the NCB was acting under the influence of the Bharatiya Janata Party," it added.

It further said that the narrative of the presser was to draw a corollary between NCB and the BJP and in that said attempt, Malik made serious connections and association of the complainant to the drugs bust. 

In the complaint, Mohit Bharatiya further stated that the NCP leader misused his dominant position as a Cabinet Minister of the ruling party to target the central agency who were bold enough to prosecute his son-in-law. The BJP leader added that the defamatory remarks by Malik have lowered and tarnished his image in front of the general public and reasonably-minded persons.

(With inputs from PTI)