The Mumbai Drug bust case took a dramatic turn on Friday when Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) Zonal Director Sameer Wankhede attempted to downplay his removal from the role of a lead investigator by claiming that the move was in line with his demand for a central probe.
When contacted, Wankhede emphasized that there are cases that he will still be leading and only those cases in which he had a problem have been handed over.
“I am still the Zonal Director of NCB Mumbai. 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 in which I had problems have been handed over. The other cases are still with the NCB,” he told CNN-News18.
Also Read: Sameer Wankhede, Who Has Been Shifted from Aryan Khan Case, Was Once NCB’s Top Dog
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 five other high-profile cases from the anti-drug agency’s Mumbai zonal unit to its central team.
Two cases related to drugs, with links from Kashmir to Mumbai, and Thane, have been transferred from the NCB top dog, sources said, adding that these investigations are “sensitive in nature due to possible terror funding links”
“A total of six cases of our zone will now be investigated by Delhi teams (of NCB), including Aryan Khan’s case and five other cases. It was an administrative decision,” ANI quoted Mutha Ashok Jain, Deputy DG, South-Western Region, NCB, as saying.
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 October 3 from the international cruise terminal in Mumbai.
Reacting to the development, Maharashtra minister Nawab Malik tweeted, “This is just the beginning. A lot more has to be done to clean this system and we will do it.”
Wankhede, who has been the key investigator in important cases ranging from Indian youth training in Syria under the Islamic State to murders of political party workers in Gujarat, was hired by the NCB after the agency noticed his investigation in terror-related cases.
Also Read: Sameer Wankhede LIVE Updates: ‘Value Him as an Officer, Nothing Against Him’, Says NCB
Top director-general-level officials, under whom Wankhede has worked, said that he was the blue-eyed boy of the NCB for the first few months this year. “Top brass of the NCB was not very happy with Wankhede’s predecessor who was serving as the zonal director for very long. Top brass wanted to replace him and a DDG level took Wankhede’s name and he was called for an interview,” a top-level official told News18.com
The NCB ordered a vigilance probe against Wankhede earlier this week after extortion claims were made by witness Prabhakar Sail, who is believed to be the driver of absconding “private investigator” KP Gosavi. Gosavi is the man seen in the viral selfie with Aryan Khan and who was arrested in Pune in a separate case. Sail claimed that a Rs 25-crore money deal was made on behalf of some NCB officials, that includes Wankhede, to let Aryan go. Wankhede has denied these allegations.
Wankhede had also approached the Bombay High Court seeking protection from coercive action in the matter. “I am personally attacked by the state. My apprehension is they will arrest me. I want interim protection in the form of no coercive action,” Wankhede has said.
The Mumbai police too have initiated an inquiry in the case of bribery against Sameer Wankhede. A four-member team is investigating the inquiry and it is expected that he will be also called to join the investigation.
Read all the Latest India News here
Comments
0 comment