NCB officer made me sign blank sheets too, says witness in another drugs case

His reference is to a letter ostensibly written by an NCB officer and mailed to Nationalist Congress Party leader Malik who has been openly critical of Wankhede.

Three days after Prabhakar Sail’s startling revelations about Narcotics Control Bureau’s (NCB) officer Sameer Wankhede’s conduct in the raid on a cruise ship on October 2 in which actor Shah Rukh Khan’s son Aryan Khan was arrested, Shekhar Kamble, a witness in a different drugs case filed by NCB, alleged on Wednesday that Wankhede, the agency’s zonal director, made him sign several blank papers and used them to prepare a panchnama (basically an account of proceedings).

NCB Mumbai Zonal Director Sameer Wankhede has denied all charges against him.  (ANI)

The case concerned was registered on August 26, when NCB officials conducted raids in Kharghar and arrested Nigerian national Kingsley Ukwueza. The agency claimed to have seized 55 grams of Mephedrone (commercial quantity) and a small quantity of marijuana in the raid.

“I was present at the time of raid and one Nigerian managed to flee while NCB nabbed another. I am not aware if they (NCB officials) have recovered any drugs from him,” said Kamble, a Navi Mumbai resident.

“Three days later, one NCB official, Anil Mane, called me and asked me to come to NCB office in south Mumbai where I was made to sign at least 10 blank papers which were later used as panchnama,” he added.

He said he saw the news about the anonymous letter sent to the chief minister and NCP leader Nawab Malik that also mentioned the Kharghar Nigerian case. “I got scared, and meanwhile I got a call from Anil Mane on Tuesday night, instructing me to not speak about the episode with anyone. NCB officer Ashish Ranjan is investigating that case,” said Kamble.

His reference is to a letter ostensibly written by an NCB officer and mailed to Nationalist Congress Party leader Malik who has been openly critical of Wankhede. That letter claimed Wankhede framed innocent people in 26 fake drug cases and engaged some people to tap phones of the people to frame them.

Kamble has written to the Kopar Khairane police station in Navi Mumbai, requesting police protection.

NCB on Monday started probing allegations that Wankhede was part of a ₹25 crore racket to extort money after the arrest of Aryan Khan. A vigilance inquiry was ordered after one of the agency’s witnesses in the case, Sail, made the claim. Interestingly, Sail has also alleged that Wankhede made him to sign on blank papers to prepare the panchnama in the cruise ship drugs case.

Malik has also alleged that the day Aryan Khan was arrested, NCB detained many others in connection with the same case but that those linked to a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader were released. NCB has insisted it detained around 14 persons on that day and six were released while eight, including Aryan Khan, were arrested. Malik has also accused Wankhede of framing his son-in-law and two others in a drug peddling case in January and delaying the process for their bail. He claimed NCB passed of 200kg herbal tobacco as marijuana.

Wankhede has denied all charges against him.