After the Narcotics Control Bureau’s charge sheet gave a clean chit to actor Shah Rukh Khan’s son Aryan in the high-profile Mumbai cruise drugs case, NCB DG SN Pradhan told CNN-News18 that “initial investigation has found many flaws in the way then Zonal Director Sameer Wankhede handled the case”.
“We are shortly going to come up with the final report on Vigilance Enquiry on Wankhede. Initial investigation has found many flaws in the way he handled the case,” Pradhan told CNN-News18.
The vigilance team is also probing corruption angle and the details will shortly come out in the report, he added.
Wankhede has refused to comment on the development, saying he was “not associated with the case”.
On November 5, 2021, the NCB removed Mumbai zonal unit Sameer Wankhede from the case and transferred the investigation to its operations unit based in Delhi. Wankhede was facing a departmental vigilance probe after an independent witness in the case claimed extortion bid by those involved.
The charge sheet filed on Friday said Aryan had not been found in possession of any narcotics. “Based on an input NCB Mumbai on 02.10.2021, intercepted Vikrant, Ishmeet, Arbaaz, Aryan and Gomit at International Port Terminal, MbPT and Nupur, Mohak and Munmun at the Cordelia Cruise. All the accused persons were found in possession of narcotics except Aryan and Mohak,” said a press release by the agency.
