"My Life is Under Threat In Maharashtra": BJP Worker After Drugs Bust
NDTV
The high-profile drug raid that led to the arrest of Aryan Khan, 23, has yielded 13 grams of cocaine, 21 grams of charas, 22 pills of MDMA and 5 grams of MD, the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) had said.
The involvement of a BJP worker and a private detective in the raid on a cruise ship off the Mumbai coast by India's anti-drugs agency has kicked up a controversy. The Narcotics Control Bureau or NCB conducted the raid on Sunday and arrested eight people, including actor Shah Rukh Khan's son Aryan Khan. The NCB said drugs like ecstasy and cocaine, among others, were found at a party on the cruise ship.
Days later, videos of the raid surfaced online showing the two men escorting those who were detained that night into the NCB office.
On Tuesday, Nationalist Congress Party spokesperson Nawab Malik told reporters that Manu Bhanushali, who was seen escorting one of the accused Arbaaz Merchant into the NCB's office, is a BJP worker. Mr Malik also pointed out Mr Bhanushali's photo with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah from his social media profiles.
Mr Bhanushali told NDTV that he got information from a friend outside Maharashtra that a party where drugs would be used would be held on October 1. "I am a BJP worker for the last 10-15 years, just one among the 11 crore workers. Just because I am a BJP worker, I am being targeted. Nawab Malik's son-in-law was caught in a drugs case, that's why he is targeting me. I only intend to save the youth of this country from the drugs menace," Mr Bhanushali told NDTV.