Wankhede terms NCB notices ‘witch hunt’, alleges leaks and vendetta in HC affidavit

Wankhede has contended that the NCB’s action is retaliatory, linked to his high-profile investigations, including the 2021 Cordelia cruise drugs bust and the arrest of Malik’s son-in-law, Sameer Khan, for alleged possession of narcotic substances

MUMBAI: In a strongly worded affidavit before the Bombay High Court, former zonal director Sameer Wankhede has described the Narcotics Control Bureau’s (NCB) issuance of notices to him over alleged irregularities in two cases he supervised as a “witch hunt” and a “media trial”. The IRS officer has alleged that the agency deliberately “leaked sensitive details and confidential notices” to the press to settle personal scores and damage his public reputation.

Wankhede terms NCB notices ‘witch hunt’, alleges leaks and vendetta in HC affidavit

According to the affidavit, 11 notices were issued to Wankhede based on an alleged anonymous complaint received by former minister Nawab Malik in 2021. The complaint flagged purported irregularities in the arrest of a Nigerian drug peddler and in a drug case involving UK-based actress Sapna Pabbi, both cases supervised by Wankhede.

Wankhede has contended that the NCB’s action is retaliatory, linked to his high-profile investigations, including the 2021 Cordelia cruise drugs bust and the arrest of Malik’s son-in-law, Sameer Khan, for alleged possession of narcotic substances.

He approached the high court in 2024 through advocates Faiz Merchant and Faisal Shaikh, challenging the NCB summons issued on the basis of the anonymous complaints. In the affidavit filed on April 16, Wankhede claimed that the ongoing inquiry stems from Malik’s “personal grudges” following the arrest of his son-in-law. “It is a matter of shame that an honest officer is being vilified and persecuted by his department at the behest of a tainted cabinet minister who is being prosecuted for having financial links with dreaded underworld terrorists,” the affidavit stated.

He also pointed out that a copy of the original complaint was never served to him. “Since the agency is in the habit of leaking false information to the media, there is enough reason to believe that they are now concocting evidence against me,” Wankhede said, adding that former DDG Singh was pursuing a personal “grudge” against him.

Calling the preliminary inquiry a “sham”, Wankhede alleged that it was designed to legitimise pre-existing bias. He said that while the initial basis of the case was an anonymous letter, a notice issued to him in March 2024 revealed that Sapna Pabbi, described as an absconding accused in the drugs case, and Karan Sajnani, a co-accused in the case involving Malik’s son-in-law, had emerged as complainants in separate cases against him.

Expressing shock at the agency taking cognisance of complaints by an absconding accused, Wankhede argued that this demonstrated the NCB’s intent to “vilify him in the present witch-hunt being masqueraded under the garb of a preliminary enquiry”.

“It is a matter of great shame that the NCB is willing to compromise their case running into hundreds of crores worth of narcotic substances for merely targeting me,” the affidavit stated. “It is shameful that the premier narcotics investigating agency of our country is prioritising a personal grouse against me over the safety and security of the nation, as narcotics trade… has ripples beyond the borders of our country and finds its source and genesis in international terrorism,” it added.