NCP-linked Sunil Patil 'mastermind' of cruise party raid: BJP activist

Mumbai, Nov 6 (IANS) In yet another twist to the Cordelia Cruiser raid, a BJP activist on Saturday claimed that Sunil Patel, who is linked with NCP leaders, is the alleged "mastermind" of the sensational case in which Aryan Khan, son of Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan, was arrested

Talking to media persons, Bharatiya Janata Party activist Mohit Kamboj-Bharatiya said that Patil, who hails from Dhule, has close connections with all the top Nationalist Congress Party leaders and ministers and had prior knowledge of the rave party that was scheduled on the cruiser, which was raided by Narcotics Control Bureau's Mumbai Zonal Director Sameer Wankhede, on October 2.

According to Bharatiya, Patil, who is a friend of former state minister Anil Deshmukh's son Hrishikesh Deshmukh, boasted of his strong relations with the NCP leaders and how Anil Deshmukh had once allegedly met drug peddler, Chinku Pathan, an aide of the mafia don Dawood Ibrahim Kaskar, at a government guest house during the lockdown.

NCP national spokesperson and Maharashtra Minister Nawab Malik rubbished Bharatiya's claims, terming it as an unsuccessful attempt "by a member of Wankhede's private army to misguide and divert attention from the truth".

Elaborating, Bharatiya claimed that Patil is also linked with the others whose names have cropped up in recent weeks like Sam D'Souza, Kiran Gosavi, Prabhakar Sail and Manish Bhanushali and "they work as a syndicate".

He alleged that they tried to extort money and are involved in transfers and posting of officials, and charged Malik of "scripting a false narrative to defame the BJP, the NCB and its officers".

Bharatiya demanded to know what is the relationship of Patil with Malik and other senior NCP leaders and ministers with whom he (Patil) enjoys close rapport.

"Patil has a suit booked in Hotel Lalit for months. There were big parties with 'sharab, shabab and kebab' there for those attending them... I will reveal more," he warned.

The BJP activist said that Patil had advance knowledge of the cruise rave party and wanted some link who could put him in touch with the NCB and was referred to Gosavi.

"They are all (Gosavi, D'Souza, Bhanushali) Patil's associates. I have been sent audio-video clips and WhatsApp messages of theirs from someone and I have forwarded them to the probe agencies," Bharatiya said.

Meanwhile, Malik said that he will reveal more on the Hotel Lalit episode on Sunday, even as some BJP leaders advised him to keep off the NCB and let the agency do its work.