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.
It was last year, when Rhea made headlines after she was accused by Sushant's family for abetment to suicide and also siphoning off funds from the late actor. She was also named in a Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) chargesheet along with her brother Showik in a drug-related probe into Sushant's death case.
In a huge setback to Aryan Khan, a Mumbai special NDPS court on Thursday reserved its order on his and other co-accused's bail applications till October 20, even as the NCB virtually labelled him a 'junkie' regularly consuming drugs.
Produced by Ronnie Screwvala, Neha Anand and Pranjal Khandhdiya, written by Nanda Periyasamy, Aniruddha Guha and Kanika Dhillon and directed by Akarsh Khurana, 'Rashmi Rocket' also stars Supriya Pathak, Abhishek Banerjee, Priyanshu Painyuli and Supriya Pilgaonkar.
The agency also accused Aryan Khan of being in touch with some persons abroad who could be part of an international illegal drug syndicate and it is continuing further investigations to unearth his links to contact the foreign agency through proper channels.
At the hearing today, Khan's lawyer Amit Desai sought the bail plea to be heard on Tuesday (October 12), but the NCB's Special Public Prosecutor A.M. Chimalker asked for Thursday (October 14), after which the Special Court posted the matter for Wednesday.
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