Sameer Wankhede removed from Aryan Khan case probe, Delhi NCB's SIT to take over

The development comes following allegations of Rs 8 crore payoff linked to the drugs-on-cruise case and extortion of Bollywood actors.
NCB zonal director Sameer Wankhede (File | PTI)
NCB zonal director Sameer Wankhede (File | PTI)

MUMBAI: The Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) on Friday removed its zonal director Sameer Wankhede as the lead investigator into a slew of high-profile cases, including the drug seizure on a cruise involving actor Shah Rukh Khan’s son Aryan Khan and a narcotics peddling charge against NCP minister Nawab Malik’s son in-law Sameer Khan.

The cases would now be investigated by the agency’s Delhi-based operations unit under Sanjay Singh. 

Sources said Wankhede was relieved of 26 cases as a departmental inquiry into the allegations of corruption, extortion, blackmailing and manipulating witnesses was pending against him.

“The decision was taken to ensure a transparent probe into the cases,” said a source, adding that the departmental probe has indicated several anomalies in the Aryan Khan case.

“Wankhede has not followed proper procedures in the Aryan Khan case. Besides, the allegations leveled by Prabhakar Sail that Wankhede’s team demanded `25 crore is very serious. The Mumbai Police have some related CCTV footage. His removal is necessary to maintain the credibility of anti-drug agency,” the source added.

Wankhede baiter Nawab Malik demanded a re-investigation into the cases handled by the NCB officer and said, “This is just beginning. A lot more needs to be done to clean this system.”

For his part, Wankhede said the removal was based on his petition.

“A writ petition was filed by me in the high court for an independent probe by a central agency, and now a senior officer has been appointed. Cases where I had problem have been handed over,” he said.

Wankhede, however, will continue to be the Mumbai zone director of the agency.

The NCB issued a statement on Friday to say that the six cases are being "taken over" by the special investigation team (SIT) of officers from the Delhi operations unit as they have "national and international ramifications and in order to conduct a deeper investigation to find out forward and backward linkages."

It said, "No officer or officers have been removed from their present roles and they will continue to assist the operations branch investigation as required until any specific orders are issued to the contrary.''

The NCB reiterated that it functions across India as a single integrated agency.

The NCB operations unit has a pan-India jurisdiction and it is currently headed by DDG Sanjay Kumar Singh.

He is an Indian Police Service (IPS) officer of the 1996 batch Odisha cadre.

As these cases have "wider and inter-state ramifications", they have been transferred to the operations unit in Delhi, NCB Deputy Director General (north-west region) Mutha Ashok Jain told PTI on Friday.

Jain said the order for the transfer of cases has been issued by NCB Director General (DG) S N Pradhan.

It was not clear if the 2020 drugs case of actor Rhea Chakraborty was also transferred to the operations unit from Mumbai.

Sources said the agency has found "certain issues" in the probe in these six cases and hence they are being taken away from the Mumbai unit.

The NCB had arrested Aryan Khan and at least 19 others in the drugs on cruise case on the intervening night of October 2-3 and Wankhede is facing a departmental vigilance probe after an independent witness in this case alleged an extortion bid by those involved in the investigation.

Wankhede had denied any wrongdoing.

Aryan Khan was released on bail on October 30.

A team from the Delhi NCB operations is expected to reach Mumbai on Saturday and camp in there to take the probe in these cases forward, the officials said.

(With PTI Inputs)

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