Cruise drugs case: Sunil Patil appears before Mumbai SIT to record statement

NCB office in Mumbai. File Pic

Sunil Patil, whom former Mumbai BJP youth wing chief Mohit Bharatiya has accused of being the mastermind of the cruise drugs episode, appeared before the Mumbai Police's Special Investigation Team (SIT) on Sunday evening to record his statement, an official said.

Patil reached the Azad Maidan police station in a private cab and later went to the SIT office located in south Mumbai, he said.

According to the official, Patil entered the SIT office around 6:15 PM.

ACP Milind Khetle, who heads the SIT, will record Patil's statement.

The SIT was constituted by the Mumbai Police to probe allegations of extortion against Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) officials in connection with the alleged drug bust on board a cruise liner last month in which Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan's son Aryan Khan is an accused.

The SIT has already recorded the statement of NCB's independent witness Prabhakar Sail, the official added.

Also read: Sunil Patil has no relations with NCP, have never seen him, says Nawab Malik

Sail had claimed that he had heard NCB witness K P Gosavi discussing a pay-off deal of Rs 25 crore after Aryan Khan was arrested by NCB in connection with the case.

Gosavi was later arrested by the Pune Police in a cheating case.

On Saturday, Bharatiya claimed that Patil, who hails from Dhule in north Maharashtra, is the mastermind of the entire cruise drugs episode.

Bharatiya had also alleged that Patil was associated with many leaders of the ruling Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), including former Maharashtra home minister Anil Deshmukh.

On Sunday, Patil denied the allegations that he was the "mastermind".

Speaking to a news channel, Patil claimed the tip-off about the cruise party was given to Manish Bhanushali, an NCB witness in the case, by Bhopal-based Neeraj Yadav, who he claimed is a BJP worker.

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