According to the order issued today, the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) has sent back its Mumbai zonal chief Sameer Wankhede. Wankhede, who was on the spot after the arrest of Shah Rukh Khan’s son Aryan in the drug-on-cruise case last year, was attached as the Mumbai regional director of NCB in August, 2020.
IRS officers were in the eye of a political storm after NCP leader and Maharashtra minister Nawab Malik arrested people in cases of forged documents, lying about their religion and “fake” drugs to get government jobs. Wankhede has denied all the allegations.
Notable investigations at Wankhede include the alleged Bollywood drug syndicate following the death of actor Sushant Singh Rajput. From Rhea Chakraborty to other actors under Wankhede, NCB arrested and questioned.
Last October, his team allegedly recovered drugs on a cruise ship off the Mumbai coast and arrested Aryan Khan and others. Questions were raised on the credibility of the agency and it was alleged that Aryan was arrested by NCB officials to extort money from Shah Rukh Khan.
The senior NCB official faced major charges including corruption, extravagant lifestyle and caste certificate fraud.
NCP leader Malik had accused Wankhede of extorting crores and wearing “expensive” clothes beyond the reach of an honest and upright officer. Malik said the officer was wearing trousers worth Rs 1 lakh, shirt worth over Rs 70,000 and watches worth Rs 25 lakh to 50 lakh.
However, Wankhede had denied the claims and said, “He should go to Lokhandwala area and check what are the prices of my clothes. He is spreading all the rumours, he lacks knowledge and he should find the right information about things.”
Malik had also accused Wankhede of forging his caste certificate and other documents to get a job from the SC quota after clearing the UPSC exam as an IRS officer. Malik has been claiming that Wankhede is a Muslim by birth.
Wankhede, who has been the principal investigator in important cases ranging from the training of Indian youth in Syria under Islamic State to the killings of political activists in Gujarat, was hired by the NCB after the agency stepped up its probe into terrorism-related cases.