Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut alleged that Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis was protecting the drug mafia in the state. Raut made this claim in connection with the recent seizure of mephedrone valued at Rs 300 crore by the Mumbai police.
Raut was interacting with reporters before joining a march in Nashik to protest the growing menace of drugs in Maharashtra. Fadnavis knows everything about the opposition. How come he doesn’t know about the drug mafia? He is shielding the drug mafia and those who are taking haftas (protection money), he said.
Calling Lalit Patil, a main accused in the Rs 300-crore mephedrone seizure case, the tip of the iceberg, Raut said, In fact, the friends of drug mafias are sitting in the assembly. It’s the plight of Maharashtra that we have such a home minister (Fadnavis), Raut said. The arrest of Lalit Patil has triggered a war of words between the ruling dispensation and the opposition in the state. Hours after the news of Patil’s arrest came on Wednesday, Fadnavis had said that a major revelation will soon come out.
Raut also alleged that MLAs and ministers take haftas. An MLA takes Rs 16 lakh hafta from the drug racket and there are six such MLAs, he said. The Sena (UBT) leader said his party organised the morcha in Nashik to raise awareness of drug abuse but efforts were made to discourage students and parents.
On October 6, the Sakinaka police in Mumbai announced that during the course of a two-month operation, they had arrested numerous people from various cities and confiscated 151 kg of mephedrone worth Rs 300 crore. During the investigation, a drug production facility in the Nashik area was also shut down.