Maha Minister claims NCB's Wankhede was part of a plot to 'kidnap' Aryan Khan

Mumbai: Maharashtra minister Nawab Malik on Sunday alleged that NCB's Mumbai zonal director Sameer Wankhede was part of a plot to "kidnap" Aryan Khan, the son of Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan. He also claimed that Aryan was "trapped, kidnapped for ransom" in the Cordelia Cruise rave party raid by the Narcotics Control Bureau.

Speaking to the media, Malik claimed BJP leader Mohit Bharatiya was the "mastermind" of the plot. He further claimed that Wankhede had met Bharatiya at a graveyard in suburban Oshiwara.

Moreover, Shah Rukh Khan has been threatened ever since he started making the expose series on the NCB Zonal Director Sameer Wankhede since October 6, Malik told media persons.

"There are four persons -Wankhede, his juniors V.V. Singh and Ashish Ranjan and one of their driver's Mane...They are the quartet in the NCB office... They run the private army to trap high-profile people and then extort them of crores of rupees," Malik said.

The other members of the alleged 'private army' are Kiran Gosavi, Mohan Bhanushali, Sam D'souza - whose real name is Sanville Steanley D'Souza, Mohit Kamboj-Bharatiya and Sunil Patil, the NCP National Spokesperson said.

Responding to the BJP leader Bharatiya's charges of Saturday, Malik said that he had never met Sunil Patil, nor is he linked with the NCP in any manner.

According to the NCP leader, Aryan Khan was invited to the cruiser party by Pratik Gaba and Amir Furniturewala, both are friends of Rishab Sachdeva - who is linked with Bharatiya.

"Now it is established that Aryan Khan was kidnapped and a ransom of Rs 25-crore was demanded for his release, and the final figure was sealed at Rs 18 crore, of which Rs 50-lakh was already taken by Mohit Kamboj-Bharatiya who is the mastermind," Malik said, referring to the affidavit of one of the witnesses Prabhakar Sail.

He revealed that one Congress Minister Aslam Shaikh and children of other ministers were also invited to join the party.

Malik charged Bharatiya of owning a dozen hotels in Mumbai, an accused in a Rs 1,100-crore financial scam, is close to Wankhede and is a member of his 'private army' that traps prominent personalities to extort big money from their victims.

The NCP leader's briefing came a day after Bharatiya alleged that the real brain behind the cruiser raids was Sunil Patil, who is very close to the NCP leaders and ministers and even released a purported picture of him (Sunil Patil) with Kiran Gosavi and a Gujarat cabinet minister Kiritsinh Rana.

Congress Spokesperson Atul Londhe-Patil said it was strange that the allegation is made of Sunil Patil's links with NCP but his photograph posing with a BJP minister was released.

"All this is to divert attention from the massive quantity of several tonnes of drugs which entered Gujarat via Mundra Porta. Why nobody is talking about it, where have all the drugs gone... There should be a full investigation into it," demanded Londhe-Patil.

Aryan Khan was last month arrested following a raid led by Wankhede on a cruise ship from which drugs were allegedly seized.

Malik has repeatedly termed the cruise drugs bust case as "fake" and levelled a series of allegations against Wankhede