‘Genie is out of the bottle,’ says Malik after Wankhede family members meet BJP leader

PTI, Oct 29, 2021, 6:10 PM IST

Mumbai: Maharashtra minister Nawab Malik on Friday took potshots over a meeting between family members of Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) Mumbai zonal director Sameer Wankhede and BJP leader Kirit Somaiya, saying “the genie is out of the bottle.” Malik, who has levelled a slew of allegations against Wankhede in context of the drugs-on-cruise case, accused the BJP of misusing central agencies to defame Maharashtra and the Hindi film industry based in Mumbai.

Aryan Khan, son of superstar Shah Rukh Khan, is one of the accused in the drugs case.

Speaking to reporters here, Malik said, “The wife of Sameer Wankhede had written a letter to chief minister yesterday seeking his support by playing the Marathi card, but in the evening the whole family met BJP leader Kirit Somaiya. It means the genie is out of the bottle.

“I had already raised questions about BJP’s uneasiness when I was targeting an NCB official for his alleged involvement in fraud.” Kranti Redkar, the wife of Wankhede, has written a letter to Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, seeking justice in the wake of the “attack on her family and her personal life”.

Redkar, Wankhede’s father and sister on Thursday afternoon met Somaiya, who later tweeted his photo with the family members and claimed they are disturbed because of “slanderous attacks by Nawab Malik.” The state minister, who has dubbed the cruise drugs case as “bogus”, has accused Wankhede of forging documents to get government job and lying about his religion, among other things. The IRS officer and his family have denied all allegations.

Elaborating on his claims over the BJP’s alleged involvement in the episode surrounding the cruise drugs bust, the Maharashtra minister said, “Kiran Gosavi, who is a witness (of the NCB) in Aryan Khan’s arrest, has a partnership with a BJP leader in some firm.

“He is already facing allegations of extortion, corruption and kidnapping. Gosavi (arrested by Pune police in a fraud case) alone will expose many things about the BJP. I have more explosive information which I will reveal in the winter session of the state legislature.” The BJP has misused central agencies to defame Maharashtra and the Hindi film industry, Malik claimed.

“Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has also tried to woo the Hindi film industry appealing them to shift to his state. By shifting Bollywood there, is Yogi Aadityanath trying to set up UPHood there?. It will not work,” he said.

“The film industry here generates jobs for millions of people. You can not harass them for not shifting to UP,” said the minister.