New Delhi: Maharashtra Minister and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Nawab Malik's son-in-law Sameer Khan, who was arrested in a drug-related case earlier this year, has sent a legal notice to former Chief Minister and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Devendra Fadnavis over defamation and demanded Rs 5 crore for inflicting ‘mental torture, agony and financial loss.
According to the legal notice, shared by Nawab Malik and his daughter Nilofer Malik Khan on Twitter, the allegations levelled by Fadnavis that Sameer Khan possessed drugs while the investigation into the case was underway, were ‘baseless’.
On January 13, Sameer Khan was arrested by Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) for dealing with commercial quantities of drugs. However, later, on September 27, Nawab Malik's son-in-law was granted bail after he spent 8 months in prison.
While stating that false accusations ruin lives, Nilofer Malik Khan on her Twitter handle writes, "Before one accuses or condemns they must know what they are talking about. This defamation notice is for the false claims & statements which Mr Devendra Fadnavis has put on my family. We will not back down."
“The allegations were without any merit. The Charge Sheet filed by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) does not support even a single allegation levied by you. The Panchnama dated 14/01/2021 clearly says that the house was searched and no contraband/suspicious substance was found in my client House or under his possession. But from which source you obtained such false, frivolous and baseless report is better known to you,” the legal notice read.
The notice has been issued at a time when Maharashtra Minister Nawab Malik and former Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis have been trading barbs after the arrest of Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan’s son Aryan Khan in a drug bust case, with both Malik and Fadnavis making allegations and counter-allegations against each other.
(With inputs from ANI)