Aryan Khan drugs case: NCB's Sameer Wankhede removed as probe officer; SIT formed

Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) Zonal Director Sameer Wankhede, who is facing a slew of allegations ranging from bribery, extortion and questions over his ’extravagant’ personal lifestyle, has been reportedly removed from his role as the lead investigator in the Mumbai drugs bust case in which Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan’s son Aryan Khan is an accused. According to information accessed exclusively by CNN-News18, top sources in Delhi said that an order taking Wankhede off the probe has already been issued and that the NCB Director General has also decided to transfer four other high-profile cases from the anti-drug agency’s Mumbai zonal unit to its central team. Wankhede currently heads the agency’s Mumbai zonal unit. The IRS officer is in the eye of a political storm after NCP leader and Maharashtra minister Nawab Malik accused him of forging documents to get a government job, lying about his religion and arresting people in “bogus” drugs cases. Wankhede has denied all allegations. Sources told CNN-News18 that a Special Investigation Team (SIT) has been formed to oversee the transferred cases. “These five cases are likely to have national and international ramifications and may involve inter-state linkages,” said an official. Wankhede had on Monday visited the central anti-narcotics agency’s headquarters in Delhi and met senior officers. He was seen entering the NCB head office soon after he met National Commission for Scheduled Castes (NCSC) chairperson Vijay Sampla. NCB deputy director-general (northern region) Gyaneshwar Singh is conducting a departmental vigilance probe into allegations of extortion made in the drugs-on-cruise case in which Wankhede and his team had arrested Aryan Khan and seven others on 3 October from the international cruise terminal in Mumbai. At least 20 people have been arrested in this case till now. 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 Aryan Khan from the case. Apart from the Aryan Khan case, the one involving Bollywood actor Armaan Kohli, who was arrested by the NCB on 28 August after he was allegedly found in possession of 1.3g of cocaine, has also been transferred to the SIT. Now, the probe will be handled by Senior IPS officer Sanjay Singh, sources said. Sanjay Singh is Deputy Director General (Operations), NCB. “The idea behind shifting these sensitive cases is to see them in a completely transparent prism of facts and evidence. The Central Unit will avoid unnecessary controversy around high-profile cases like Aryan Khan’s,” said an officer privy to the development. Sanjay Singh and his team are likely to reach Mumbai on Saturday to take over the probe. CNN-News18 tried to reach NCB officials in Delhi and Mumbai for an official comment, but there was no word till the time this report was published. An NCB official said he is unaware of this development.