Aryan Khan gets clean chit: Ex-NCB officer who arrested him says ‘no comment’

Sameer Wankhede, the agency's former zonal director in Mumbai, conducted the raid on October 2 last year which resulted in the arrest of the 24-year-old, among others.

Published on: May 27, 2022, 15:02:31 IST

By HT News Desk, New Delhi

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Shortly after the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) on Friday gave a clean chit to actor Shahrukh Khan's son, Aryan, and five others, in the drugs-on-cruise case, Sameer Wankhede, the NCB's former zonal director in Mumbai who conducted the operation which led to the arrest of Aryan, and several others, refused to comment on the agency's clean chit to the 24-year-old.

Also Read | NCB gives clean chit to Aryan Khan, charges 14 others in drugs case

“Sorry, I can't comment. I'm not in the NCB, talk to NCB officials,” Wankhede, whose term with the anti-drugs agency ended on December 31 last year, told India Today. In January this year, the officer returned to his parent cadre, the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI); in September 2020, he was sent on a deputation with the NCB.

Click here to follow all updates on NCB's clean chit to Aryan Khan

Wankhede, who himself courted several controversies during the episode, led a raid on the Cordelia cruise ship at the International Cruise Terminal at Green Gate in the metropolis. The team recovered various drugs, and ₹1.33 lakh in cash from the vessel.

Also Read | Applied principle of proof beyond reasonable doubt: NCB on Aryan Khan clean chit

Initially, 14 people were intercepted from the cruise ship, and, on the afternoon of October 3, the federal agency arrested Aryan Khan and his friends, Arbaaz Merchant and Munmun Dhmaecha. Subsequently, 17 others were also arrested.

Also Read | Aryan Khan gets clean chit in drugs case. Who were chargesheeted?| Full list

On October 28, Khan, Merchant and Dhamecha were granted bail by the Bombay high court.

Friday's developments, meanwhile, are likely to trigger a fresh face-off between Maharashtra's ruling coalition--the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA)--and the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). The MVA has frequently accused the BJP of trying to topple the state government through central agencies; the BJP is in power at the Centre. The saffron party, however, has always denied the allegations.

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