'Aryan Khan didn’t purchase ticket for cruise, party was a plot to kidnap the star kid'

Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Nawab Malik has alleged that Aryan Khan did not purchase the ticket for the Cordelia Cruise ship party and claimed that NCB official Sameer Wankhede was part of a plot to kidnap Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan’s son.

Speaking to reporters in Mumbai, Malik, who is the spokesperson of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), claimed that Mohit Bharatiya, former president of Mumbai BJP's youth wing, was the "mastermind" of this conspiracy.

Malik also claimed that an amount of Rs 25 crore was sought but the deal was finalised at Rs 18 crore and a sum of Rs 50 lakh was given. However, the deal got spoilt because the selfie of K P Gosavi (NCB's witness in the cruise drugs case) with Aryan Khan, after his arrest, became viral.

The minister further said there have been attempts to frighten Shah Rukh Khan that since he "gave an amount of Rs 50 lakh", he too becomes an accused.

Aryan Khan, 23, was last month arrested following a raid led by Wankhede on a cruise ship from which drugs were allegedly seized. He was later granted bail by the Bombay High Court.

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

The minister on Sunday claimed Wankhede had met Bharatiya at a 'kabarastan' (graveyard) in suburban Oshiwara.

"But, because of his (Wankhede's) good luck, we couldn't get the footage since police's CCTV was not functioning. Hence, out of fear, Wankhede had lodged a false complaint that he was being stalked," Malik said.

"The alleged cruise rave party was a plot to kidnap Aryan Khan for ransom, of which Mohit Bharatiya was the mastermind," the NCP leader alleged.

Accusing Wankhede of being involved in the plot, he claimed Bharatiya was a member of Wankhede's "private army".

Malik also claimed that journalist RK Bajaj and advocate Pradeep Nambiar were members of Wankhede's "private army".

During his presser, Malik also appealed to Shah Rukh Khan to come forward and support his fight against injustice.

He accused Wankhede of creating fear among drug consumers while protecting peddlers and traffickers.

He claimed the trap to kidnap Aryan Khan was laid through Rishabh Sachdeva, the brother-in-law of Bharatiya.

"Rs 25 crore were sought, and the deal was finalised at Rs 18 crore...Rs 50 lakh were given. The deal got spoilt because the selfie of K P Gosavi (NCB's witness in the cruise drugs case) with Aryan, after his arrest, became viral," he claimed.

The minister further said there have been attempts to frighten Shah Rukh Khan that since he "gave an amount of Rs 50 lakh", he too becomes an accused.

"I appeal to him not to get scared. If your child is kidnapped and ransom is sought and the parent pays it, he is the victim and not the accused," Malik said.

Aryan Khan was taken to the cruise party by Pratik Gabba and Aamir Furniturewala, he claimed, adding that Sachdeva, Gabba and Furniturewala were let off by the NCB.

"Kashif Khan, an organiser of the cruise party, had tried hard to invite state minister Aslam Shaikh and children of our top ministers to come to the party," he claimed.

"Besides cases of Aryan Khan and Sameer Khan (Malik's son-in-law), all 26 cases (being probed by the NCB) should be given to the SIT for the probe. If there is an attempt to scare me by putting my son-in-law's case for re-examination, let me be clear that I am not scared," the minister said.

Malik's son-in-law was arrested in January this year by the NCB in an alleged drugs case and was granted bail in September.

Meanwhile, a senior NCB official on Sunday evening rubbished the fresh allegations raised by Malik.

"Every morning Malik makes new claims. But what about the follow-up of his allegations. Where is the evidence? He had spoken about (the purported visit of the Wankhede's family) to the Maldives and Dubai earlier, but there is no evidence. If Malik has evidence then why he is talking to the media. He should give the proof to the court," the official told PTI.