Sameer Wankhede not to probe Aryan Khan’s cruise drugs case; NCB ropes in ops team

Mumbai, Nov 5: The Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) has transferred cruise drugs bust case involving Aryan Khan, son of Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan, to its operations unit based in Delhi, the anti-drug agency announced on Friday. It was earlier investigated by Sameer Wankhede who is facing extortion and several other allegations.

The Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) has taken away the controversial cruise drugs case and five others from the agency's Mumbai zonal unit headed by Sameer Wankhede following allegations around personal and professional life.

The action has been taken on "administrative grounds", and as these six 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. However, Sameer Wankhede will continue to be the zonal director.

The order was issued by NCB Director General (DG) SN Pradhan as Wankhedeis facing a number of personal and service-related allegations. Wankhede is facing a departmental vigilance probe after an independent witness in the case claimed an extortion bid by those involved.

Maharashtra Minister Nawab Malik has continuously attacked Sameer Wankhede and made several allegations. From producing fake caste certificates to get the government job to his two marriages, the NCP leader levelled various allegations.

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."

The NCB had arrested Aryan Khan and at least 19 others in the cruise drug case on the intervening night of October 2-3. The son of Shah Rukh Khan got bail on 28 October.

However, Sameer Wankhede said that he has not been removed from the investigation. "It was my writ petition in court that the matter be probed by a central agency. So Aryan case and Sameer Khan case are being probed by Delhi NCB's SIT. It is in coordination between NCB teams of Delhi and Mumbai," he told ANI.

A team from Delhi NCB operations will camp in Mumbai to take the probe in these cases forward, officials said. PTI