Addressing a press conference, the former chief minister Devendra Fadnavis said he had documents of five such property deals and would hand over the same to the appropriate authorities. He would also submit the documents to Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) supremo Sharad Pawar to let him know what his party functionaries were indulging in.
Devendra accused Maharashtra cabinet minister Nawab Malik and his family of purchasing a 2.80-acre plot from Mohammad Salim Patel, a “frontman” of Dawood Ibrahim’s sister Haseena Parker from Badshah Khan, a 1993 blast convict, in 2005.
“There is a direct connection with the underworld. I have documents of five property deals. Four properties were purchased connected with the underworld. I will ascertain which appropriate authorities, whether it is the police, ED, NIA, and hand it over to them,” Fadnavis said. He further stated that “Malik did business with people involved in blasts that shook Mumbai. He purchased land from convicts of the case at rates cheaper than market prices. Was this deal to save prime land from being forfeited under TADA law?”.
The BJP leader’s allegations against the minister came in the wake of a series of controversies following the arrest of Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan’s son Aryan in a drugs bust case aboard a Goa-bound cruise last month. Malik has accused the Narcotics Control Bureau’s (NCB) zonal director Sameer Wankhede of partnering with some BJP leaders in an extortion attempt in the case, besides levelling other charges. Allegations and counter-allegations have followed since then.
In reply to Devendra Fadnavis’s allegations, Maharashtra cabinet minister Nawab Malik said he will reveal Devendra Fadnavis’ underworld connection on Wednesday. Malik also reacted to Fadnavis’s claims that he and his family members entered into land deals with people associated with the underworld.
“The allegations are baseless. I had no relations with the underworld and never purchased land from blast convicts,” Malik said as he addressed a press conference. “We were tenants of the plot, the owner wanted to sell it. We carried out the transaction with the person who had the power of attorney on behalf of the owner,” Malik added.
