BJP wades into NCB vs NCP row, says 'Malik using ministerial privileges to settle scores'

Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) on Wednesday hit out at the MVA Government for targetting Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) Zonal Director Sameer Wankhede alleging that Maharashtra Ministers were under the influence of wanted gangster Dawood Ibrahim. Speaking to ANI, BJP National General Secretary Kailash Vijayvargiya stated that Wankhede's targetted harassment had shown that no honest officer of the Central government could work in Maharashtra. 

"It (allegations by NCP's Nawab Malik against NCB officer Sameer Wankhede) shows that no honest officer of Central government can work in Maharashtra. Dawood (Ibrahim) isn't in our country but his influence is on ministers of Maharashtra government," Vijayavargiya told ANI.

BJP IT cell chief Amit Malviya also slammed Nawab Malik's allegations against the NCB officer saying that he was targeting the central agency after his son-in-law was arrested in a drugs case under the NDPS Act. Malviya stated that Malik was 'using his ministerial privileges to settle scores.'

BJP seeks FIR against Nawab Malik 

Earlier, BJP MLA Atul Bhatkhalkar had demanded an FIR against Nawab Malik for 'forging documents' of Sameer Wankhede and attempting to create a rift between the two communities. “By displaying a fabricated birth certificate of a central government officer in social media, Nawab Malik is trying to create disharmony among religions. He is targeting an officer who is discharging his duty honestly and has been in the forefront to expose the nefarious designs of the drug mafia. Malik is targeting the officer for reasons best known to him but his act of uploading the forged birth certificate is an offense,” Bhatkhalkar wrote in his letter to Mumbai Police.

Wankhede, who is currently investigating the Mumbai drugs case, has been repeatedly targeted by Nationalist Congress Party spokesperson Nawab Malik, who has accused the IRS officer of forging his documents to secure a government job and raised questions over his heritage, religion and caste. Bribery and extortion charges have also been levelled against him which the Maharashtra Government is mulling over probing. 

The latest series of allegations come after the agency busted a drug party on a cruise ship from Mumbai to Goa on October 2. The investigation led to the high-profile arrest of Shah Rukh Khan's son Aryan Khan.