Tomorrow, a five-member team from the Narcotics Control Bureau’s vigilance department will go to Mumbai to probe claims against Sameer Wankhede, the zonal officer in charge of the narcotics aboard cruise ship case. A vigilance investigation had been launched by the agency into bribery claims made against the officer by a guy designated as a witness in the case.
Mr Wankhede is also accused of extortion, unlawful phone tapping, and cornering quotas designated for Scheduled Castes using fraudulent paperwork by Maharashtra minister Nawab Malik. Mr Malik has demanded that the officer be investigated after tweeting a letter with 26 complaints.
Read also: NCP Minister: Did Sameer Wankhede use fake caste certificate for govt job?
Earlier today, Deputy Director General Mutha Ashok Jain of the Drug Enforcement Administration said the agency would take appropriate action. Mr Wankhede had arrived in Delhi the day before, but dismissed suggestions that he had been summoned by his superiors. In court, the officer filed an affidavit disputing the minister’s claims.
He requested protection against potential legal action “being prepared” against him by unknown parties to “falsely frame him over a purported vigilance-related matter” in a letter to Mumbai Police Commissioner Hemant Nagrale. Prabhakar Sail, who claims to be private investigator KP Gosavi’s personal bodyguard, claimed that his employer planned to seek Rs 25 crore from Shah Rukh Khan’s management to settle the case against his son Aryan Khan, who was detained in the cruise ship case.
Read also: Aryan case probe official Wankhede reaches Delhi, denies being ‘summoned’
According to Prabhakar Sail’s statement, Gosavi suggested they should seek for a “bomb 25 crore” and then settle for 18 crores, of which 8 crore was for Sameer Wankhede. He further said that Sameer Wankhede forced him to sign multiple blank sheets of paper. Tomorrow, the NCB team will go to Mumbai, led by senior agency officer Gyaneshwar Singh. It is scheduled to depart at 9:00 a.m. and arrive in the country’s financial centre at 11:00 a.m.
