A day after allegations were levelled against the involvement of private individuals in the raid conducted by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB), the Maharashtra unit of the Congress party questioned whether senior personnel of the NCB were aware of the involvement of private citizens in the raid, and sought action against officials for violating the agency’s rules.

Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader and Maharashtra Minister Nawab Malik, who had levelled the allegations, released two more videos of the two private individuals, Manish Bhanushali and Kiran Gosavi, entering and leaving hurriedly from the NCB office on the day of the raid on the cruise ship.

“Surprising to see the NCB saying action was taken following all procedures as per rule and law when there is a serious violation of the set of procedures in the NCB handbook while arresting the accused in a raid on a cruise ship. It clearly suggests that the NCB wants to shove the matter under the carpet,” said State Congress general secretary Sachin Sawant.

According to the rules, the NCB’s Drug Law Enforcement Officer (DLEO) is responsible for the safety of the arrestee, and he must keep the arrestee always in sight. It also says that if the DLEO has other work, he has to hand over the arrestee to another officer under written instructions from a superior officer.

“How was a private individual allowed to click a selfie with the arrested Aryan Khan?” asked Mr. Sawant. He sought the duly signed permission from a superior officer to hand over the arrested accused to a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader and “a duper”, in a reference to Mr. Bhanshali. “Bhanushali in his statement has said that he is an informer while the NCB says he is an independent witness,” Mr. Sawant said.