The NCB under Wankhede had earlier arrested Malik’s son-in-law Sameer Khan in a narcotic case and the agency has recently moved the Bombay High Court to quash the bail granted to the latter in the case.
Highlight
- The controversial NCB Mumbai zonal director Sameer Wankhede’s tenure with NCB came to an end.
- Their services have been placed at the disposal of their parent organization DRI.
- Wankhede is in limelight after Aryan Khan’s arrest.
Controversial NCB Mumbai regional director Samir Wankhede’s tenure with the federal anti-drug agency has come to an end and his services have been put at the disposal of his parent organization DRI, officials said on Monday.
The charge of the NCB Mumbai regional unit will be handled by its Indore zonal director Brijendra Choudhary, a 2009-batch IRS officer of Customs and Indirect Taxes cadre, in an additional capacity. Wankhede, an Indian Revenue Service (IRS) officer of 2008 batch, was deputed “on loan” to Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) Mumbai area in August, 2020 from the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) in the wake of drugs. The agency involved in the death of 34-year-old actor Sushant Singh Rajput is being investigated.
The 42-year-old officer served as the head or zonal director of the NCB Mumbai unit with an initial tenure of one year with effect from August 31, 2020. He was given an extension of four months in the post after August 2021. Wankhede’s tenure with the NCB finally ended on December 31, 2021 and since there is no government order for his extension, he has been sent back to his parent organization DRI, officials said.
DRI is an investigative agency under the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC). Officials said the NCB did not seek extension of the officer’s service.
Wankhede has been in the limelight after the high-profile NCB raid on a Mumbai cruise of October, 2021, following which the agency arrested actor Shah Rukh Khan’s son Aryan Khan and around 19 others and also seized some narcotics. claimed. , Aryan Khan and several others arrested during these raids were later released on bail.
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Soon after this action, Maharashtra minister and NCP leader Nawab Malik leveled several allegations of alleged misconduct and corruption against the officer. Wankhede has denied the allegations, including the allegation of forgery in his caste certificate.
The NCB under Wankhede had earlier arrested Malik’s son-in-law Sameer Khan in a narcotic case and the agency has recently moved the Bombay High Court to quash the bail granted to the latter in the case. Prabhakar Sail, an ‘independent’ witness in the cruise drugs case, had claimed and filed an affidavit that an extortion bid of Rs 25 crore was made by some officials of the agency and others to free Aryan Khan from the case.
SAIL had said that it had heard that out of this money, a ‘bribe’ of Rs 8 crore was to be given to Wankhede. Following these allegations, the agency headquarters here had removed Wankhede, apart from five others, and placed its probe under a team headed by its Deputy Director General (DDG) Operations based in Delhi.
Another DDG (Northern Zone) is conducting a vigilance probe into the allegations of extortion in the cruise drugs case. Wankhede and his family had categorically denied these allegations and said that these allegations were made to prevent the officer from taking strong action against drug smugglers and syndicates operating in Mumbai.
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