Cruise drugs case: Sameer Wankhede faces two probes

Controversial and high-profile NCB’s Mumbai zonal director Sameer Wankhede now faces two separate probes - by an internal investigation by the federal agency, and another by the Mumbai Police.

The Mumbai Police has appointed an assistant commissioner of police-level officers to look into the allegations of extortion against the officer.

Meanwhile, an NCB team from New Delhi has landed in Mumbai and visited the NCB office at the Ballard Estate and collected some documents related to the case.

The team is headed by deputy director general Dhyaneshwar Singh, who has been asked to head the vigilance probe by NCB chief SN Pradhan.

“We have started the probe… This is a very sensitive investigation, too early to share anything. We will not be able to share information in real-time. It's a sensitive case. We shall enquire into all aspects and later inform the media of the developments,” Singh said.

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It may be mentioned that deputy director general Mutha Ashok Jain, who heads the South-West Region, has sent the affidavit of witness no. 1 in the drugs-on-cruise case, Prabhakar Sail, to the NCB director general.

Accordingly, on Tuesday, Wankhede, an officer of the 2008 IRS-batch, was summoned to New Delhi, during which he presented his side of the story.

Meanwhile, the Mumbai Police probe is expected to be headed by ACP Milind Khetle.

Sail, who is the personal bodyguard of Kiran Gosavi, another witness in the cruise ship raid, had alleged that Wankhede, Gosavi and some other NCB officers had sought Rs 25 lakh from Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan to release his son Aryan Khan in the drugs bust case.

He had also alleged a meeting that Gosavi had with Pooja Dadlani, the secretary of SRK, in the latter’s car.

However, the Mumbai Police did not elaborate what complaints that they have received against Wankhede.

Sail’s statement has been recorded by the Mumbai Police.

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