Nawab Malik's 'hydrogen bomb': Fadnavis has links with Dawood aide, shielded fake note racket

Mumbai, Nov 10: NCP leader Nawab Malik on Wednesday accused former Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis of protecting fake currency rackets in the state and alleged that the BJP leader had links with gangster Dawood Ibrahim's aide Riyaz Bhati.

Addressing a press conference, Malik said "I'm fighting against a man who is framing innocent people in fake cases. Devendra Fadnavis is not only diverting my issue but also trying to defend one officer (Sameer Wankhede)."

"Nagpur's notorious criminal Munna Yadav was appointed chairman of Construction Workers' Board by Devendra Fadnavis during his govt. One Haidar Azam, involved in illegal immigration of Bangladeshis, was appointed chairman of Maulana Azad Finance Corporation by Fadnavis," he said.

"One Riyaz Bhati, a close aide of Dawood Ibrahim, was arrested at Mumbai airport with a fake passport. He was allowed bail in 2 days only. Why was Riyaz Bhati in close contact with you (Devendra Fadnavis)?. Bhati has been seen with many big leaders in pictures," Malik added.

"Demonetisation was done in 2016. Counterfeit notes were being caught across the country but till 8 Oct'17 not a single case of counterfeit note was reported in Maharashtra as the game of counterfeit notes was going on in Maharashtra under Devendra Fadnavis," Malik alleged.

"On 8 Oct 2017, DRI conducted raids at BKC (Bandra Kurla Complex) in which counterfeit notes with a face value of 14.56 crores were seized. Devendra Fadnavis had helped suppress this matter," the NCP leader said.

On Tuesday, Nawab Malik had refuted Fadnavis' charge that the former had bought land parcels from the people linked with the underworld, saying he will drop a hydrogen bomb on Wednesday and expose the "underworld links" of the BJP leader.

Fadnavis had alleged that a company of Nawab Malik and his family members had purchased land in suburban Kurla at a very cheap rate through fictitious documents from two convicts of the 1993 Mumbai serial blasts case. He also alleged that Malik and his family members had entered into land deals with people associated with the underworld.

Malik said he has been in public life for over 26 years and no one has levelled charges, linking him to the underworld and blast convicts. He said Fadnavis is making a mountain of a molehill .