Shah Rukh Khan being threatened to keep quiet, alleges Nawab Malik

Bollywood star Shah Rukh Khan had been threatened with severe consequences if he opened his mouth on the ransom demand made on behalf of some Narcotics Control Bureau officials, alleged Nawab Malik, Maharashtra minister and NCP national spokesman on Sunday. He was addressing a press conference in Mumbai.

Claiming that arrest of Aryan Khan (23), Shah Rukh Khan’s son, by the NCB followed a botched kidnapping and ransom bid, Malik said there was enough evidence to suggest that the actor’s secretary Pooja Dadlani had paid up a sum of Rs 50 lakhs to the middlemen, as part of the Rs 18 Crore offer to release Aryan Khan.

Malik tweeted the video of the complete press conference. Here is the link:

Shah Rukh Khan, Malik alleged, was being intimidated and told that he would be made an accused in a Hawala transaction case if he comes out with details of the ransom demanded. “This is rubbish because Shah Rukh Khan was a victim of extortion,” said Malik while suggesting that all victims of extortion in Mumbai should come forward to reveal details.

He also alleged that Aryan Khan had not even bought a ticket for the cruise. He had been invited by people he knew and was whisked away by NCB officials even before the ship set sail. The NCB Director General, he said, had misled the nation by claiming that NCB had conducted the search and seizure operation in the high seas.

Hotel Lalit in Mumbai, he claimed, was used by the conspirators to hatch the plan to kidnap Aryan Khan and extract a ransom. The conspirators, he alleged, had even celebrated the impending ‘trap’ on October 27 in the said hotel, five days before the cruise was to begin.

Identifying one Mohit Kamboj, a hotelier with BJP connections, Malik appealed that BJP should not shield people like Kamboj, Sunil Patil, Sameer Wankhede, Manish and Dhaval Bhanushali, Kiran Gosavi and others engaged in the extortion. The Bharatiya Janata Party, he pointed out, had already said that these people were not associated with the party. Therefore, although there are photographs of all these people with BJP leaders including the Prime Minister, BJP should not try to defend or protect these people.

Malik voiced his doubt that the cruise was being used to trap many other people. Several Maharashtra ministers and their children, he alleged, were extended invitations and persistent efforts were made to persuade them to attend the FTV party on board the ship. There was possibly a much bigger plot to discredit the Maharashtra government, he said.

In another murky twist to the Aryan Khan saga, Mumbai businessman Vijay Pagare claimed that he knew of the plan to trap Aryan Khan in advance. He had advanced a loan of Rs 50 lakhs to one Sunil Patil, who had confided that the trap was likely to yield a substantial amount for all of them, enabling him to pay back the loan.

Malik demanded that 26 NCB cases cited by him be investigated and action taken against the peddlers, drug dealers and extortionists in Mumbai. He named three NCB officials in the Mumbai zonal office and a driver, who, he alleged, were involved in the extortion.