Sena mouthpiece questions ‘suspicious’ death of NCB witness in drugs on cruise case

Prabhakar Sail, an independent witness in the Mumbai drug case, passed away of a heart attack in Mumbai on 1 April.

Mumbai: Shiv Sena has questioned the ‘suspicious’ death of Prabhakar Sail, a witness in the high-profile drugs on cruise case involving Aryan Khan, and likened it to the murder of Mansukh Hiran, whose name cropped up in the Antilia explosives case. The party, which is said to be upset at ally Nationalist Congress Party’s (NCP) handling of the state police machinery, has also called upon the home department to “face this challenge.”

Sail had claimed to have overheard a conversation about an alleged pay-off involving NCB zonal director Sameer Wankhede and Gosavi (ANI)

“As the Prime Minister of the country (Narendra) Modi must himself take a serious look at Prabhakar’s death,” said an editorial in the Shiv Sena mouthpiece Saamana. The newspaper has party Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Raut as the executive editor and chief minister and Sena president Uddhav Thackeray’s wife Rashmi as the editor.

Hiran, whose car was found parked outside industrialist Mukesh Ambani’s residence in Mumbai with gelatin sticks on 25 February 2021, was allegedly murdered and his body was found in the Thane creek on 5 March.

Prabhakar Sail, an independent witness in the Mumbai drug case, in which Aryan was arrested, passed away of a heart attack in Mumbai on 1 April. Sail was the bodyguard of K.P Gosavi, another witness in the drug cruise case.

The editorial claimed that central agencies like the Enforcement Directorate (ED) are being used to settle political scores and if someone spoke the truth, there was a mortal threat to their lives.

It said that an attempt was made to trap actor Shah Rukh Khan’s son in the drugs case though it was found that he was neither in possession of a narcotic nor had consumed it.

“Even then, the NCB’s officer Sameer Wankhede arrested Aryan and created a flutter. There was an attempt to extort money in this case. Prabhakar Sail had exposed how Aryan was cheated and how the NCB’s officers were trapping the rich in fake cases. Prabhakar Sail was one witness who broke the racket of the NCB officials and created a nationwide impact,” the newspaper charged.

It added that while Maharashtra minister and NCP leader Nawab Malik, who has been arrested by the ED, had exposed how the cruise drugs case was “bogus,” Sail was an important witness in this matter.

Sail had stood up against the officer “who was working on the BJP’s agenda, and continued to speak the truth till the end.”

“It was because of Prabhakar that the fake narrative of the central agencies was exposed. Now suddenly, Prabhakar Sail has passed away,” said Saamana, adding that state home minister Dilip Walse Patil had himself termed it suspicious and asked Director General of Police (DGP) Rajnish Seth to investigate it.

“It seems that when someone complains against the government, the ED hounds them, they have to face a series of raids, and if one comes forth as a true witness, attempts are made on their life. Prabhakar had alleged that NCB officials were trying to extort ₹8 crore in the Aryan Khan case. Due to this, the NCB’s zonal director Wakhede found himself in trouble and had to leave the NCB… the Cordelia cruise case was a political conspiracy,” it alleged. The editorial questioned why BJP leaders “who otherwise take the Thackeray government to task for even an ant crushed under the feet,” were silent on this death.