Fadnavis has links with Dawood aide, shielded fake currency racket: Nawab Malik

Mumbai: Maharashtra minister and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Nawab Malik on Wednesday morning held a press conference to drop a "hydrogen bomb" - reference to an alleged expose against former chief minister Devendra Fadnavis.

Maharashtra minister and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Nawab Malik on Wednesday morning held a press conference to drop a "hydrogen bomb" - reference to an alleged expose against former chief minister Devendra Fadnavis.

He questioned the appointments done during Fadnavis' tenure and alleged that people with "dubious Pakistan connections" were appointed at key posts. Malik also said that the fake currency racket was going on in Maharashtra under Fadnavis' protection.

“With the blessing of Fadnavis, the game of counterfeit notes started in Maharashtra. After demonetisation was declared by PM Narendra Modi and when fake currency was being seized in many states, no case was registered in Maharashtra for almost a year. On October 8, 2017, DRI conducted a raid and seized fake currency worth ₹14.56 crore but the case was weakened by Fadnavis, (the then chief minister) showing a seizure of only ₹8.80 lakh,” Malik claimed.

“Imran Alam Shaikh, an accused arrested from Mumbai got bail and no probe was conducted. Shaikh is younger brother of Haji Arafat Shaikh, a BJP leader, who was appointed as state minorities commission chairman in the previous government,” the NCP leader further said.

He added that there was "direct connection" of the counterfeit notes with Pakistan.

Claiming the former chief minister had links with Dawood Ibrahim, the NCP leader alleged that Fadnavis started a recovery racket with the help of gangster's aide Riyaz Bhati, who has been named in an FIR registered in an extortion case.

“Bhati was arrested in a 2015 fake passport case, but is absconding now,” said the NCP leader. And he once again targeted Narcotics Control Bureau's (NCB) zonal director Sameer Wankhede, alleging that Fadnavis took his help to save the criminals.

Malik further said Munna Yadav, accused of murder, was made the chairman of construction workers' board by Fadnavis.

He reiterated that he or his family members are not involved in black money trade.

Today's press conference was in response to the claims made by Fadnavis on Tuesday, accusing Malik of having business dealings with 1993 Mumbai blasts convicts. The BJP leader said that Malik and his family members purchased land in suburban Kurla at a very cheap rate through fictitious documents from the two convicts.

The NCP leader rubbished the "baseless" allegations, which he said have been levelled against him to malign his image and said he did not know underworld don Dawood Ibrahim's sister Haseena Parker.