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For quite some time NCB officer Sameer Wankhede has been making headlines for some controversies wrapping around him. In a recent event, it seems that the officer’s petition in the Mumbai sessions court has been rejected. Check out the reason below.
The Mumbai sessions court stated that the court cannot discard the statement from the only witness in the drugs-on-cruise episode, which claims the officer to be a part of an extortion attempt on the Dilwale actor, whose son Aryan is an accused in the case.
The Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) and Sameer Wankhede had documented 2 statements in front of the special court against the extortion attempt claims against them requesting the court to pass a rule saying no court should take cognizance of the statement made by the independent witness, Prabhakar Sail. According to NCB and its zonal director, the statements made by Sail was only a try to build hurdles and scuttle the investigation into the case
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The NCB also requested the court to pass a rule to make sure there is no tampering with the evidence or investigation in the case. Special Judge V V Patil, appointed to hear cases connected to the Narcotics Drugs Psychotropic Substances (MDPS) Act, eliminated the statements, telling such orders cannot be passed
“Considering the nature of the relief claimed in the applications (affidavits), no such blanket orders can be passed. It is for the concerned court or authority to pass appropriate order at the relevant stage,” the court said. The court also said that the topic was sub-judice in front of the Bombay High Court which is slated to hear the bail pleas filed by Aryan Khan and his inmates in the drugs case Munmun Dhamecha on Tuesday.
“Therefore, no such orders can be passed by the court as prayed. Hence, the applications are disposed of,” the court said. In a statement that Wankhede submitted to the court going against the allegation, he said he was under the constant pressure of getting arrested and that it does not suit vested interests for conducting an honest and impartial investigation.
The IRS officer also said that he was also targeted by a well-known political figure, and the only reason he can think of is that the NCB had arrested “this person’s son-in-law Sameer Khan.” It is to be noted that Sameer Khan who is now a free man in the son-in-law of NCP leader and Maharashtra minister Nawab Malik, has been making numerous statements against Wankhede
On Sunday, Prabhakar Sail in his statement claimed that Rs 25 crore was commanded by an official of the NCB and other persons, along with fleeing witness K P Gosavi, to get off Aryan Khan in the case. The witness also overheard Gosavi telling one Sam D’Souza over the phone, when Aryan was brought to the NCB office, hearing about a demand of Rs 25 crore and “to settle at Rs 18 crore as they have to give Rs eight crore to Sameer Wankhede.”
The witness also said he would soon bring in proof to support his statement. The NCB and Wankhede rubbished these claims in their affidavits submitted to the court on Monday.
“After spearheading the investigation in the cruise ship case, I am being personally targeted by a well-known political figure for reasons best known to him,” Wankhede said in his statement. Wankhede’s affidavit alleged personal vendetta against him and his family members.
“I am under a lurking threat of arrest as it does not suit some vested interests for conducting an honest and impartial investigation,” Wankhede told, adding he was prepared to face an investigation to prove his innocence. He also said that the court should also consider the pressures put on officers to break them so that the truth does not come to light
“The present case (cruise drugs case) involves influential and rich persons from the higher echelons of the society in which all kinds of threats including that of arrest are made against me,” Wankhede said. The NCB named the statements against Wankhede and other officers as “completely false, misleading and mischievous and an attempt to malign and tarnish the image of an independent agency like the NCB”
” The allegations of extortion against NCB officials and money changing hands is a clear attempt to undermine the ongoing investigation and create pressure with a malafide and ulterior motive,” it said. They also added that officers like Wankhede have an unmatched service record being honest and working tirelessly to make Mumbai a drug-free city
Special public prosecutor for the NCB, Advait Sethna, on Monday delivered the statements in front of the special court. Sethna notified the court that Sail was terrorizing to release some proof which would hinder the case and hence, reasonable orders should be given.
An NCB team overseen by Sameer Wankhede earlier this month seized drugs on a cruise ship that was off the Mumbai coast after which Aryan Khan and his other inmates were arrested on October 3. At present Aryan is kept at the Arthur Road jail in Mumbai under judicial custody. The special NDPS court had last week rejected to grant him bail after which he moved toward the high court.
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