The NCB on Wednesday threw its weight behind its zonal chief Sameer Wankhede who is facing multiple allegations of extortion and misconduct in the Mumbai drugs bust case in which Shah Rukh Khan’s 23-year-old son Aryan is also an accused. Deputy Director General (DDG)-northern region, Gyaneshwar Singh confirmed that Wankhede was questioned by the NCB’s vigilance probe team for close to four hours on Wednesday and said that he will continue to be the investigating officer in the case until ‘substantial information’ is found against him.
“Sameer Wankhede was questioned today. He submitted case-related documents that were sought. If needed, he’ll be questioned further. He’ll remain the investigating officer in the drugs-on-cruise ship case until substantial information is found against him,” Singh was quoted as saying by new agency ANI.
A five-member vigilance probe team, which landed in Mumbai Wednesday morning, has started its probe and collected some documents and recordings from the Narcotic Control Bureau’s (NCB) office at Ballard Estate in south Mumbai, DDG Singh, who is heading the departmental vigilance probe into allegations of extortion, told media persons.
The NCB has ordered a vigilance inquiry into the claims made by a witness, Prabhakar Sail, in the cruise drugs case of an extortion bid of Rs 25 crore by some agency officials, including Wankhede, to let off Aryan Khan. The inquiry is being conducted by Gyaneshwar Singh, who is also the chief vigilance officer of the federal anti-narcotics agency.
A large number of media persons were present outside the NCB’s office when Singh arrived. Wankhede, who is leading the probe in the cruise drugs case, visited the NCB’s headquarters in New Delhi on Tuesday and spent over two hours.
Sources earlier said the inquiry will also look at the aspect of K P Gosavi, another NCB independent witness in the case, being in close proximity of Aryan Khan after the raids, and the procedures followed by the sleuths while entrusting custody of all the accused arrested on October 3 from the international cruise terminal in Mumbai. Photos and videos of Gosavi with Aryan Khan have gone viral on social media and other news platforms.
The role of all the officers and witnesses involved in the case will be probed and it will be recorded if they followed the NCB manual and procedures mentioned in the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act during such operations, they said. Wankhede on Sunday wrote to Mumbai Police commissioner Hemant Nagrale, seeking protection from likely legal action “being planned” against him by unknown persons to falsely frame him concerning an alleged vigilance-related issue.
On Monday, he failed to get any relief related to an affidavit on the sensational extortion claims made by Sail, with a special court saying it cannot pass a blanket order barring courts from taking cognisance of the document.
(With PTI inputs)
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