HomeNCB officer Sameer Wankhede removed from Aryan Khan drugs case probe: Report

NCB officer Sameer Wankhede removed from Aryan Khan drugs case probe: Report

Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) zonal director Sameer Wankhede investigating the Mumbai drugs-on-cruise probe, in which Aryan Khan is an accused, has been removed from the probe, reports said on Friday.

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By CNBCTV18.com November 5, 2021, 8:03:54 PM IST (Published)

NCB officer Sameer Wankhede removed from Aryan Khan drugs case probe: Report
Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) zonal director Sameer Wankhede, the officer investigating the Mumbai drugs-on-cruise probe, in which Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan’s son Aryan Khan is an accused, has been removed from his role as the lead investigator, reports said on Friday.


The probe will now be handled by senior IPS officer Sanjay Singh, sources told CNN-News18. Sanjay Singh is deputy director general (operations), NCB. He is likely to reach Mumbai on Saturday with his team to take over the probe.

Wankhede, who heads the anti-drug agency’s Mumbai zonal unit, is currently facing extortion allegations. The NCB officer, however, has refuted the allegations levelled against him. He is also fighting allegations that he forged his caste certificate and other documents to secure a job as an IRS officer under the Scheduled Caste quota after clearing the UPSC examination.

Earlier on Monday, Wankhede was seen entering NCB’s head office in Delhi soon after he met National Commission for Scheduled Castes (NCSC) chairperson Vijay Sampla. “I have presented all the documents and facts as sought by the commission (NCSC)... there will be a verification of my complaint and the honourable chairperson will soon give you a response," he told the media.

The developments come at a time when the NCB team led by Wankhede earlier in October allegedly seized drugs onboard a cruise ship off the Mumbai coast following which Aryan Khan was arrested on October 3. At least 20 people have been arrested in this case till now.

Meanwhile, Prabhakar Sail, an independent witness in the cruise drugs case, had claimed and filed an affidavit that there was an extortion bid of Rs 25 crore by some agency officials and others for letting off the Bollywood actor’s son from the case.

Sail had stated that he overheard that a "bribe" of Rs 8 crore was to be paid to Wankhede out of this money. The Mumbai NCB chief, however, has denied these claims.

Sail claims to be the bodyguard of a private person and another witness, in this case, K P Gosavi, who was recently arrested by the Pune police in a fraud case pending against him. Gosavi's close proximity and photographs with Aryan Khan during NCB raids had raised questions. They are part of the agency's departmental vigilance probe.

(With PTI inputs)
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