Nationalist Congress Party leader and Maharashtra minister Nawab Malik on Thursday accused Narcotics Control Bureau zonal chief Sameer Wankhede of 'extortion' and released some purported photos of Yasmeen Wankhede, sister of Sameer Wankhede. The allegation comes as the agency on Thursday reportedly summoned Bollywood actor Ananya Panday in connection with the drugs case in which Shah Rukh Khan's son Aryan Khan has been arrested. Reports said Ananya's name featured in some of the WhatApp chats the NCB has accessed.
"A special officer (Sameer Wankhede) was brought in to the NCB after Sushant Singh Rajput's suicide. CBI is investigating the case but the mystery over his suicide or murder remains unresolved. But the NCB is now after the film industry. Dozens of actors were paraded before the NCB. Rhea Chakraborty was implicated," Nawab Malik said.
{{/usCountry}}"A special officer (Sameer Wankhede) was brought in to the NCB after Sushant Singh Rajput's suicide. CBI is investigating the case but the mystery over his suicide or murder remains unresolved. But the NCB is now after the film industry. Dozens of actors were paraded before the NCB. Rhea Chakraborty was implicated," Nawab Malik said.
{{/usCountry}}Hinting at a deeper link between Sameer Wankhede and Bollywood, Malik said, "During the pandemic, the entire film industry was in the Maldives. Sameer Wankhede must clarify what he and his family members were doing there at that time. He should clarify whether he was in Dubai," Malik said.
"We are very clear. All this extortion took place in Maldives and Dubai and I will release those photos," the Maharashtra minister said.
This is the latest allegation brought against the NCB by Nawab Malik whose son-in-law was also arrested by the agency in another drugs case. Recently, Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray and NCP chief Sharad Pawar criticised the ongoing NCB operation targetting Bollywood.
Thackeray recently said the NCB is only interested in catching celebrities, getting photos and making noise, while Maharashtra Police have recovered drugs worth crores. Sharad Pawar said Nawab Malik's son-in-law was arrested by the NCB in a drugs case while the court granted him bail saying that it was not ganja, but some herbs.
After Shah Rukh Khan visited Arthur Road prison on Thursday, the NCB team visited SRK's mansion for some paper works. Reports said the agency has also summoned Ananya Panday in connection with the Aryan Khan case.