‘Will take appropriate action if…’: NCB on fake cases allegation against Sameer Wankhede

Maharashtra minister Nawab Malik on Tuesday tweeted out a letter which accused the NCB officer of framing people in 26 ‘fake cases.’

The Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) said on Tuesday that action against Sameer Wankhede, its lead investigator in a drugs bust case which resulted in the arrest of actor Shah Rukh Khan's son Aryan, among others, will be initiated once the “anonymous” letter is marked for inquiry in Mumbai. The agency was referring to a letter shared on Twitter by Maharashtra minister Nawab Malik which claimed that Wankhede “framed people in 26 fake cases.”

Sameer Wankhede (ANI)

“The anonymous letter has not been marked for inquiry in Mumbai yet. An inquiry and appropriate action will be taken if we receive it,” Mutha Ashok Jain, the deputy director general of the anti-drugs agency said on Wankhede, its zonal director for Mumbai.

Earlier today, Malik, who has levelled a series of allegations against the NCB officer over the last few days, tweeted a four-page letter, which, the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader claimed, was written to him by a former employee of the central agency. “As a responsible citizen, I am sending a copy of the letter to DG Narcotics , requesting him to include it in the investigation being conducted on Sameer Wankhede. The letter was sent to be by an unnamed NCB official,” Malik tweeted.

Responding to the minister's allegations, Wankhede, who arrived in Delhi on Monday, said, “The allegations are baseless, and made solely to humiliate me and my family, and to divert my attention from the investigation.” His family also addressed a press conference, rejecting allegations made by Malik.

The Mumbai Police, too, began its inquiry into the allegations and counter-allegations levelled by Malik and Wankhede. In the last 48 hours, police officials said, they received six complaints, two against the NCP leader and four against the NCB personnel.

Also on Tuesday, the Bombay high court heard bail plea filed by Aryan Khan, who has spent more than three weeks behind bars since being arrested on October 3. Senior lawyer Mukul Rohatgi represented the 23-year-old in the high court, which adjourned the hearing to Wednesday.