Maharashtra Minister and Nationalist Congress party (NCP) leader Nawab Malik on Friday questioned the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) letter to Maharashtra police asking the latter to transfer ‘top five’ cases with the Anti-Narcotics Cell of the State police to the Central agency.
‘Shah’s directions’
“NCB Director General S.N. Pradhan wrote to Maharashtra Director General of Police on November 24 asking for a list five cases fit to be handed over to the NCB. This has been as per the directions of Union Home Minister Amit Shah. We want to know the criteria for selecting five cases. Are they the ones which garnered maximum publicity?” asked Mr. Malik.
The Minister termed it an attempt to infringe on the State’s rights as there is not provision in the Narcotics Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act for such take-over. As per the letter, the NCB is asking the State to transfer five cases with inte-State and international ramifications.
Mr. Malik, who has been targeting the NCB since the Aryan Khan case, pointed out that it is the State police’s Anti-Narcotics Cell which has unearthed drug rackets in the State and not the NCB.
“If NCB unit is not working, then close it down,” he said.
‘Bid to extort money’
Reiterating his earlier allegations that the NCB officers were extorting money, Mr. Malik questioned whether seeking transfer of five case is another attempt to extort money.
