'Lies, bad allegations': NCB officer hits back at NCP leader over 'Maldives link' charge

Under constant attack from NCP leader and Maharashtra Minister, Nawab Malik, NCB officer Sameer Wankhede, who is probing the Aryan Khan drug case, has hit back.

Rubbishing Malik's allegations over his Maldives visit, Wankhede told NDTV that he went to Maldives on a holiday with his children.

Malik has alleged that the officer was in Maldives during the lockdown when many Bollywood personalities were there too and it was there he was conducting an extortion racket. He has also alleged that the officer is acting at the behest of the BJP to discredit the Maharashtra government.

The drug agency officer has said that these were bad allegations and lies. He also challenged Nawab Malik to use state machinery at his disposal to verify the allegations and made those public.

Wankhede maintained that he did not visit Dubai as alleged by Malik. "I went to Maldives. Not with my sister as the photo tweeted by Nawab Malik appears to indicate. I went with my children, with proper permission, legally and with my own money," he said. He added that the visit took place a couple of months ago, not during the lockdown but after it was lifted.

Nawab Malik has repeatedly claimed that the NCB is acting at the behest of the BJP to malign Bollywood and Maharashtra.