Not summoned, says NCB's Sameer Wankhede on landing in Delhi

Byhindustantimes.com | Written by Sohini Goswami, New Delhi

Published on: Oct 25, 2021 09:51 pm IST

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Wankhede said the allegations of extortion against him in Ayan Khan case were baseless and that he had not been summoned by the authorities, but was in the national capital for a different purpose.

The Narcotics Control Bureau’s (NCB) Mumbai zone director Sameer Wankhede landed in Delhi on Monday evening amid allegations of extortion charges levelled against him and others in the drugs-on-cruise-case in which Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan’s son Aryan is behind the bars since a few weeks now.

NCB’s Mumbai zonal director Sameer Wankhede.(ANI)

Wankhede said allegations against him were baseless and that he had not been summoned by the authorities, but was in the national capital for a different purpose.

"I have not been summoned. I've come here for a different purpose. Allegations against me are baseless," the top officer of the NCB was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.

The NCB has ordered a vigilance inquiry into the claims made by a witness in the case that an extortion bid of ₹25 crore was made by some agency officials, including its Wankhede, and others for letting off accused Aryan.

Also read | Aryan Khan drugs case: Being targeted because of my dead mother, says Sameer Wankhede

The inquiry will be conducted by Gyaneshwar Singh, the NCB deputy director general (DDG) of the northern region based at its headquarters here. Singh is also the chief vigilance officer (CVO) of the federal anti-narcotics agency.

Earlier in the day, the federal anti-drug agency and Wankhede filed affidavits before a special court under the Narcotics Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, against the allegations of extortion attempts levelled against them.

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In the affidavits, they urged the court to pass an order saying no court should take cognizance of the affidavit prepared by the independent witness, Prabhakar Sail. As per the NCB and its zonal director, the allegations made by Sail were only an attempt to create hurdles and scuttle the investigation into the case. However, the court disposed of the applications and refused to pass any blanket order.