NCB orders vigilance inquiry into cruise drugs 'extortion' affidavit involving Sameer Wankhede
New Delhi, Oct 25: The Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) has ordered a vigilance inquiry into the claims made by a witness in the cruise drugs case of an extortion bid of Rs 25 crore by some agency officials, including its Mumbai zonal director Sameer Wankhede, and others for letting off accused Aryan Khan, son of actor Shah Rukh Khan.
The inquiry will be conducted by Gyaneshwar Singh, the NCB deputy director general (DDG) of northern region based at its headquarters here. Singh is also the chief vigilance officer (CVO) of the federal anti-narcotics agency.
Prabhakar Sail, an independent witness in the cruise drugs case, had on Sunday claimed in an affidavit and in subsequent interactions with reporters in Mumbai that Rs 25 crore was demanded by an NCB official and some other people linked to the case to let off Aryan Khan from this investigation.
Sail said he was the bodyguard of another witness in this case, K P Gosavi, who is absconding after the NCB raids that were conducted on October 3 at the cruise terminal on Mumbai's coast leading to the arrest of as many as 20 people, including Khan.
Sail also claimed that he saw Gosavi meeting Shah Rukh Khan's manager and that he was asked to sign "9-10 blank pages" in the presence of Wankhede after the cruise raids.
"We have received the affidavit and a report from our DDG (south-west region) based in Mumbai and the NCB director general has taken cognisance of this report. He has marked it to the vigilance section for inquiry.
"We are a professional organisation and we are open for inquiry against any allegation against our staffers. The inquiry will be transparent and fair," Gyaneshwar Singh told PTI.
Asked if Wankhede will continue to probe the cruise case till this inquiry goes on, Singh said the question was "premature and we will take a call as the inquiry progresses and evidences are gathered."
Officials said the NCB inquiry will look at all aspects of the claims made by Sail and will also record the version of Wankhede, an Indian Revenue Service (IRS) of 2008 batch Customs cadre, and other officers of the Mumbai zonal unit involved in this drugs bust case.
The inquiry team may also question Sail, they said.
A three-member team led by Gyaneshwar Singh may travel to Mumbai for "recording the evidence and taking submissions" in this case.
The report of the inquiry will be submitted to the NCB DG and based on the findings, he may take the next course of action.
Wankhede has denied the allegations being made against him in this case.
The officer on Sunday also wrote to Mumbai Police commissioner Hemant Nagrale, seeking protection from likely legal action "being planned" against him by unknown persons to falsely frame him concerning an alleged vigilance related issue.
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Karnataka: Voter turnout crosses 50% in 14 LS seats
Bengaluru (PTI): With less than three hours left for voting to end, over 50 per cent turnout was reported in Karnataka where polling is underway in 14 Lok Sabha constituencies on Friday.
According to election officials, the voter percentage till 3 PM was about 50.93 per cent. The voting that began at 7am, will end by 6 pm.
Out of 14 segments that are going to polls today, highest turnout of 58.76 percent was recorded in Dakshina Kannada, followed by Udupi-Chikmagalur at 57.49 percent. The least was 40.10 percent in Bangalore Central. The turnout was 40.77 percent in Bangalore South and 41.12 percent in Bangalore North.
Bangalore Rural that is witnessing a tight contest between Congress' D K Suresh-- MP and brother of Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar-- and Dr C N Manjunath, a noted cardiologist and son-in-law of former PM H D Deve Gowda, on a BJP ticket, has recorded 49.62 percent polling.
In the first phase, the Congress is contesting in all 14 seats, BJP has fielded nominees in 11 and its alliance partner JD(S), which joined the National Democratic Alliance in (NDA) in September last year, in three -- Hassan, Mandya and Kolar.
The segments where elections are being held on Friday are: Udupi-Chikmagalur, Dakshina Kannada, Chitradurga, Tumkur, Mysore, Chamarajanagar, Bangalore Rural, Bangalore North, Bangalore Central, Bangalore South and Chikkballapur.
In the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, Congress and JD(S), which were in alliance and ruling the state back then, had secured just one seat each in these 14 segments. The BJP had won in 11 and ensured the victory of a party-supported independent candidate in Mandya.
