New Delhi: Anti-narcotics officer Sameer Wankhede, who initially investigated the Mumbai drugs-on-cruise case, faces action for allegedly submitting a fake caste certificate and “shoddy investigation” into the drugs case, people with direct knowledge of the matter have said.
“The competent authority has been asked by the government to act against Sameer Wankhede for shoddy investigation. Action will be taken against him for his fake caste certificate,” an officer, asking not to be named, said.
Mr Wankhede, according to Maharashtra Minister Nawab Malik, used forged documents to get a government job, after which the Narcotics Control Bureau, or NCB, official handed over what he claimed were his authentic caste papers to the National Commission for Scheduled Castes in November.
Mr Wankhede was the chief of the NCB’s Mumbai zone and was in charge of the initial investigation following an anti-drugs operation on a cruise off the coast of Mumbai, in which actor Shah Rukh Khan’s son Aryan Khan was detained.
The superstar’s son was later granted bail and released. And today, his name has been cleared in the drugs-on-cruise case, as Aryan Khan’s name is not mentioned in the NCB’s 6,000-page chargesheet, which names 14 defendants.
“Now that Aryan Khan and 5 others get a clean chit. Will NCB take action against Sameer Wankhede his team and the private army? Or will it shield the culprits?” the office of Nawab Malik tweeted.
Sources today explained five irregularities in the investigation conducted by Mr Wankhede after the drugs raid.
No videography was done during the search operation and there were lapses in analysing the contents of Aryan Khan’s phone, since the chats do not link him with the case, the sources said.
According to the sources, no medical tests were performed to prove drug consumption, and one witness became hostile, telling the special investigation team that he was forced to sign blank papers. Two more witnesses told the investigation team that they were not at the location at the time of the NCB raid.
Another serious lapse was the clubbing of all the accused and invoking the same charges against everyone, even when Aryan Khan was found without drugs, the sources said.
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