Amit Fakkad Gawate, 2008 IRS officer, becomes NCB Mumbai zonal director

After Sameer Wankhede's term ended, IRS officer Vijendra Singh took the charge of the NCB Mumbai zonal director as an additional charge.

Amit Fakkad Gawate, an IRS cadre of the 2008 batch, has been appointed as the zonal director of the Narcotics Control Bureau, Mumbai. He was heading the NCB Bangalore and NCB Chennai as an additional charge. According to the order, he will continue his current charge at Bangalore zonal unit as an additional charge till May 31.

Sushant Singh Rajput and Aryan Khan cases brought NCB Mumbai at the centre of several controversies. 

NCB Mumbai has remained in the news for the most part of 2020 and 2021 because of several high-profile drugs cases involving Bollywood celebrities. Politicians, their kin, and Bollywood celebrities have been summoned and questioned in connection with several drugs cases in the last two years starting with the Sushant Singh Rajput death case. The latest high-profile case of the NCB Mumbai was that of the cruise drug case involving Shah Rukh Khan's son Aryan Khan.

After Sameer Wankhede's term ended on December 31, 2021, IRS officer Vijendra Singh took the charge of the NCB Mumbai zonal director as an additional charge.

On Wednesday, the NCB suspended two officials who were part of the Aryan Khan case, on account of dereliction of duty. However, the suspension of Vishwa Vijay Singh and Ashish Ranjan Prasad had nothing to do with the case, director-general of NCB, S N Pradhan, said.