In the Mumbai cruise raid case, every moment comes with a new twist and turn, which is getting deeper and deeper.
Now the Nationalist Congress Party has raised questions on the presence of Manish Bhanushali, a BJP worker with Arbaaz Merchant and also a so-called private detective K P Gosavi with Aryan Khan.
To date, Narcotics Control Bureau has made 16 arrests that include son of actor Shah Rukh Khan, Aryan Khan. Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) raised the question on the presence of the BJP worker, Manish Bhanushali with the accused Arbaaz Merchant and a private detective K P Gosavi with the accused Aryan Khan and asked that why NCB let them in into the legal process and how they escorted the two accused by performing the role of a Law Enforcement Officer. The detective and the BJP workers are facing a forgery case in Pune.
For this, the Nationalist Congress Party demanded a high-level inquiry before the Maharashtra State Government to investigate the relationship between the BJP and the Narcotics Control Bureau, in such a high-profile case which includes Aryan Khan as an accused.
According to Manish Bhanushali, the BJP worker, it was he who provided the information about the drugs to NCB and that resulted in the cruise raid on October 2. NCB Deputy DG however stated that the allegations by the NCP were completely baseless, and added that those two people were among the ten witnesses who were used as panchas in the panchnamas which the Narcotics Control Bureau carried out.
A panchnama is something that is used to support the evidence of the investigation at the crime scene and the seizure of the material in any of the criminal investigations. The panchnama is recorded in front of the panch of the witness.
A video came out on social media in which the BJP worker Manish Bhanushali was holding Arbaaz Merchant’s hand and was taking him for the investigation in the NCB office, the same way Aryan Khan was taken by K P Gosavi; a selfie with Aryan Khan was also posted by him. Later, NCB clarified that the man is not an officer from the Narcotics Control Bureau and on the same, NCP raised the question that what was that person doing inside the agency with Aryan Khan.
The Nationalist Congress Party has demanded an explanation from NCB about Manish Bhanushali’s presence with the Narcotics Control Bureau team at the time of the raid in the cruise. Bhanushali holds the position of BJP Vice President according to Manish’s social media feed, and has shared pictures with Prime Minister Narendra Modi as well. NCP also alleged that NCB is being controlled by the Bhartiya Janta Party to defame the people who are against their party and all these raids are a part of the scam.
Meanwhile, Manish Bhanushali said that he received some information about the cruise party on October 1 from one of his friends and then he went to Narcotics Control Bureau to inform them about the party on October 2. About his presence during the raid, Bhanushali said that he had more information than the NCB officers as he was getting updated by his friend and that’s why NCB officers asked him to accompany them. Also, they needed Bhanushali’s signature on few documents as he was a witness.
In contrast, the NCB claims that they did not know these men personally before the incident. An officer from the Narcotics Control Bureau said that the allegation made by the Nationalist Congress Party is based on previous operations and also referred to the narcotics case which had been registered against a party member’s son-in-law, who now has been in jail for the last six months. The NCB also added that if NCP wants, they can take the matter to court and NCB will prove their side in the court as everything done was legal and as per the law.
