Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) Zonal Director Sameer Wankhede, who has been leading the Mumbai drug bust case involving Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan’s son Aryan Khan, will no longer be investigating the case. Wankhede, however, has denied that he was removed from the investigation.
Speaking to ANI about the development Sameer Wankhede said: “I’ve not been removed from the investigation. It was my writ petition in court that the matter is probed by a central agency. So Aryan case and Sameer Khan case are being probed by Delhi NCB’s SIT. It’s a coordination b/w NCB teams of Delhi and Mumbai”.
I’ve not been removed from investigation. It was my writ petition in court that the matter be probed by a central agency. So Aryan case & Sameer Khan case are being probed by Delhi NCB’s SIT. It’s a coordination b/w NCB teams of Delhi & Mumbai:NCB Zonal Dir Sameer Wankhede to ANI pic.twitter.com/Hf7ZrjwVex
— ANI (@ANI) November 5, 2021
According to news agency ANI, the NCB Director-General has decided to transfer six high-profile cases, including that of Aryan Khan, from the anti-drug agency’s Mumbai zonal branch to its central team. Wankhede currently heads the agency’s Mumbai zonal unit.
Mutha Ashok Jain, Deputy DG, South-Western Region, NCB was quoted by ANI as calling it an administrative decision. “Total 6 cases of our zone will now be investigated by Delhi teams (of NCB), including Aryan Khan’s case and 5 other cases. It was an administrative decision”, said Jain.
Mumbai | Total 6 cases of our zone will now be investigated by Delhi teams (of NCB), including Aryan Khan’s case and 5 other cases. It was an administrative decision: Mutha Ashok Jain, Deputy DG, South-Western Region, NCB
— ANI (@ANI) November 5, 2021
(File photo) pic.twitter.com/vmjP65YOOv
A team of Delhi NCB is arriving in Mumbai tomorrow after the decision that 6 cases of the Mumbai zone, including Aryan Khan’s case and 5 other cases, will now be investigated by them. The NCB also confirmed that no officer or officers have been removed from the investigation.
NCB PRESS RELEASE 05/11/21 pic.twitter.com/FnrFQGNMaQ
— NCB INDIA (@narcoticsbureau) November 5, 2021
Sameer Wankhede himself filed a petition before Bombay HC asking to transfer Aryan Khan and Sameer Khan’s case to central team
According to reports, NCB was mulling to hand over the Aryan Khan case to the central team after Sameer Wankhede himself filed a petition before the Bombay High Court stating that the cases of Aryan khan and Sameer Khan (son-in-law of Maharashtra minister Nawab Malik) should be probed by the central team.
Wankhede is currently being investigated by a vigilance team of the NCB over allegations made against him by Maharashtra Minister Nawab Malik.
It may be noted that no sooner did Sameer Wankhede arrest Aryan Khan in the drug case that the focus shifted from the latter to the former, with Maharashtra minister Nawab Malik launching ad hominem attacks against the NCB officer. A concerted attempt is being made to tarnish his reputation and shift the attention from the culpability of those accused in the case to the Narcotics officer who led the raid. As a part of this campaign, Sameer Wankhede’s personal life is scrutinised threadbare—be it his dead mother or his personal relationships—the focus is shifted to inconsequential things so that his actions in the Mumbai drugs case can be undermined.
Nawab Malik spearheads campaign against Wankhede
Nationalist Congress Party’s Nawab Malik raised questions on his integrity, alleging that the raid on the cruise ship was fake. Malik then alleged that Wankhede had extorted money from Bollywood stars earlier during the pandemic, a claim that is vigorously contested by the embattled officer.
A day after, Sameer Wankhede once again found himself in the eye of a raging storm when independent witness Prabhakhar Sail alleged that Rs 25 crore was demanded on behalf of the officer to let off Aryan Khan in the Mumbai cruise drugs case. Nawab Malik was quick to launch a scathing attack against Wankhede, accusing him of committing forgery.
Raising questions on his religious identity, Nawab Malik claimed Sameer Wankhede is a Muslim but made a Hindu caste certificate by forgery to get into the Indian Revenue Service under the scheduled caste category.
Malik, besides continuously questioning Wankhade’s integrity and painting him as a corrupt officer, also said that his son-in-law Sameer Khan was framed in a ‘fake’ drugs case by the NCB, giving an impression that the motive behind leading a spirited campaign against Sameer Wankhede and NCB could perhaps be an attempt to weaken the case against Khan.
Meanwhile, on his part, Wankhede has vehemently rubbished the allegations levelled against him, terming Malik’s comment as “shoddy”.
