Aryan case probe official Wankhede reaches Delhi, denies being 'summoned'
Darpan News Desk IANS, 25 Oct, 2021 10:49 AM
New Delhi, Oct 25 (IANS) Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) Mumbai Zonal Director Sameer Wankhede, who led the cruise drug bust relating to superstar Shah Rukh Khan's son Aryan Khan but now faces bribe allegations, reached Delhi on Monday evening but denied that he had been summoned by any agency.
Surrounded by media persons, as he arrived at the Indira Gandhi International Airport, said that he is absolutely stand by his investigation.
"I came for some works in the city," he said, while denying any summons by anyone.
As many as 20 people, including Aryan Khan, were arrested after the NCB team busted an alleged drugs party on the Cordelia Cruise ship.
Sparking off a major controversy, a witness in the case on Sunday accused the NCB of allegedly demanding bribes from Shah Rukh Khan to release his son.
The witness, Prabhakar Sail, openly stated on various TV channels that he feared a threat to his life from none other than Wankhede.
Meanwhile, the NCB vigilance unit head, DDG NR, Gyaneshwar Singh said that the agency will initiate an inquiry into the allegations of "extortion" made by the independent witness in the drug case.
Singh said that he will record the statements and analyse the evidence submitted by the witness, Sail, and later make a comprehensive report and submit it to the NCB.
On being asked whether Wankhede will remain in the position as it can impact the inquiry, he said: "We will make a decision on the evidence found during the inquiry."
"We are a professional agency and whenever we notice a thing to be enquired, we will do the inquiry," he said. The vigilance chief added that they would continue to fight the drug menace despite the personal attacks and accusations against the anti-drug trafficking body.
It was believed that Wankhede has been summoned to the national capital by the NCB Director General to provide an explanation into the stunning allegations leveled by the cruiser ship raid's "panch witness" Sail on Sunday, but the agency has termed it as a routine meeting with the top brass.
NCB official sources have hinted that there is apparently no evidence of any "drug-related exchanges" in her alleged WhatsApp chats with Aryan Khan - the son of Bollywood megastar Shah Rukh Khan - who has been arrested in the drugs case and currently in judicial custody till October 30.
The pony-tailed senior Khan sporting dark shades and a black facemask over a grey half-sleeved T-shirt was virtually mobbed by the paparazzi and the hordes of policemen as he entered the menacing barred gates of the ARCJ in the congested south Mumbai.
Along with Aryan Khan - the son of superstar Shah Rukh Khan, the other seven accused - arrested by the Narcotics Control Bureau on October 3 after the October 2 raid on a rave party aboard a cruise ship - were also sent to judicial custody till October 30 by the court.
Talking of 'Sooryavanshi', the film is now set for a massive theatrical release after its run-ins with delays and uncertainties. The film which also stars Akshay Kumar, Jackie Shroff and Jaaved Jaaferi with Ajav Devgn and Ranveer Singh in extended cameo appearances, will hit the screens on November 5 and will quell the audience's hunger for a true blue Bollywood potboiler, this Diwali.
Special NDPS Judge V.V. Patil also declined the bail applications of Arbaaz Merchant and Munmun Dhamecha, the two others accused in the drug case lodged by Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB).
The unverifiable reports, attributed to unidentified NCB sources, claimed that Aryan Khan was purportedly 'full of guilt and remorse' over his recent actions leading to his arrest and custody since the past 17 days.
