A Special Investigation Team of the Narcotics Control Bureau arrived in Mumbai on Saturday to tackle six instances, together with the alleged Cordelia drug bust case, wherein actor Shah Rukh Khan’s son Aryan Khan was arrested.
These instances have been transferred from NCB Mumbai zonal unit director Sameer Wankhede to the SIT on Friday. Wankhede has been on the middle of a storm since Aryan Khan’s arrest on October 2, following which questions have been raised on the credibility of witnesses within the case and the intense allegations leveled towards him by NCP chief and Maharashtra minister Nawab Malik.
NCB Deputy Director General Sanjay Kumar Singh, who’s heading the 15-member SIT, arrived in Mumbai, NCB sources prompt that Aryan Khan take a look at the case afresh in view of the allegations leveled by Malik and others in reference to the case. can go.
“The SIT will investigate whether Wankhede conducted further investigation and further investigation. These cases have been taken over by the Delhi unit as it has international ramifications. Wherever suspicions have been raised or allegations of corruption have been raised, such cases can be reconsidered,” stated an NCB official.
In Aryan Khan case, Wankhede has been accused of corruption and NCB can be conducting a vigilance inquiry towards him and his staff. Prabhakar Cell, a witness within the case, has alleged that KP Gosavi – he’s additionally a witness and his selfie with Aryan Khan in custody made the rounds on social media – demanded cash on behalf of Wankhede.
The six instances handed over to the SIT embody the Aryan Khan case, a drug case towards Malik’s son-in-law Sameer Khan, one towards actor Armaan Kohli and a drug case in Mumbai’s Mumbra, Jogeshwari and Dongri areas.
Sources stated the SIT will full the paperwork for dealing with the instances later this week and can begin a proper probe from Monday.
He stated, ‘Wankhede’s assist can be taken if wanted. In the approaching time, individuals can be known as and questioned. All the proof collected can be completely analyzed,” stated an NCB official.
On Friday, after six instances have been taken away from him, Wankhede instructed The Indian Express: “In my writ petition earlier than the Bombay High Court, I had requested a central company to analyze these instances. So it is not like I’ve been sacked or transferred someplace. I’m nonetheless the director of the Mumbai unit.”
Although there isn’t any point out of those instances in his petition, however a requirement has been raised for a central company probe into the allegations of corruption towards him.
Sanjay Singh, who’s heading the SIT, is a 1996 batch IPS officer of Odisha cadre and served within the CBI from 2008 to 2015, when he returned to his cadre state.
He joined the NCB in January this 12 months and was put in control of working the company.
The three instances, other than these involving Aryan Khan, Armaan Kohli and Sameer Khan, pertain to drug busts in elements of Mumbai and contain overseas nationals.
On 15 September, two individuals have been arrested and 1.75 kg of mephedrone and three.9 kg of ephedrine have been confiscated in a raid by the NCB in Mumbra. Two individuals have been recognized as Sahil Aji and Ibrahim Jehangir. Follow-up led to 2 extra arrests, together with a person from Gujarat who had allegedly provided mephedrone to prosperous prospects there.
Another case transferred to the SIT was the one which led to the arrest of three individuals, together with alleged drug smuggler Sameer Merchant alias Sameer Langra, on July 26. In the raids carried out at Jogeshwari, NCB claimed to have recovered 1.2 kg of charas. 17.5 lakhs in money.
The third case pertains to the NCB raid at Dongri earlier this 12 months the place 65 grams of MD was recovered.
A senior official stated all of the six instances have “international links” and can be probed by the SIT.
In the final one 12 months, the NCB has registered a number of instances involving overseas nationals. The company has arrested 28 overseas nationals within the final 5 months alone.
The official stated the instances have been transferred for “administrative reasons” and didn’t specify on what foundation these six instances have been chosen for investigation by the SIT.
Earlier, when the NCB was investigating the Sushant Singh Rajput case, a staff from the Operations Unit of the NCB Headquarters in Delhi had camped in Mumbai to help within the investigation.
Mumbai NCB officers stated all obligatory paperwork was supplied to the SIT on Saturday.
Sources stated the NCB’s vigilance staff probing corruption allegations towards Wankhede once more recorded the assertion of one of many officers concerned within the Cordelia raid in Delhi earlier this week.
Meanwhile, the SIT constituted by Mumbai Police on Saturday recorded the statements of two individuals in reference to the allegations of extortion leveled towards NCB officers after the Cordelia raid. He was reportedly requested by Gosavi to method Shah Rukh Khan’s supervisor Pooja Dadlani.
So far, 4 complaints have been obtained by the Mumbai Police on corruption costs. The police commissioner has constituted an SIT to probe the allegations.
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With inputs from TheIndianEXPRESS
