Anchor: Ritvick Bhalekar
Video Producer: Shohini Bose
Video Editor: Sandeep Suman
The Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB), which has been 'waging a war against illegal drugs', has now found itself under suspicion. After allegations of extortion against Mumbai NCB's Zonal Director Sameer Wankhede, the NCB has now ordered an internal inquiry into the matter. The biggest role in this controversy is being played by NCP leader and Minister Nawab Malik.
Over the last few weeks Malik has put Samir Wankhede in the dock by making serious allegations against him. The twists and revelations in the allegations and counter-allegations being exchanged by both groups would put any Bollywood thriller to shame.
NCB vs NCP War
Here's what happened! Let's start with the allegations of extortion against NCB zonal director Sameer Wankhede.
A person named Prabhakar Sail, who became Witness No. 1 in the Mumbai cruise drugs case, shocked everybody with his statement on Sunday, 24 October. Sail said that he was the personal bodyguard of the controversial independent witness Kiran Gosavi and that Gosavi demanded Rs 25 crore from Shah Rukh Khan's manager Pooja Dadlani to cover up the case involving Aryan Khan. The amount was brought down to Rs 18 crore, of which Sail claims Rs 8 crore was to given to Sameer Wankhede.
Sail also said that he was made to sign on nine or 10 blank papers at the NCB office. He also added that he picked up Rs 50 lakh in cash from an unknown person and handed over Rs 38 lakh of it to a person named Sam D'Souza the next day.
Now comes the second character, Sam D'Souza. According to Sail, Gosavi and Sam had a meeting outside the NCB office on the night of the raid on the cruise. Sail had heard about the demand of Rs 25 crore between these two.
Apart from this, Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut has also claimed that Sam D'Souza is the biggest player of this entire game. If sources are to be believed, Sam acts as a middleman in extortion cases.
He allegedly is an expert in turning the black money received from extortion cases into white. From government officials to page 3 celebrities, Sam is supposedly well-networked.
Allegations Made by Nawab Malik
Nawab Malik tweeted the birth certificate of Wankhede and called it the beginning of his journey in forgery. Malik says that Sameer Wankhede's father's name is Dawood Wankhede and that he is a Muslim. Despite this, Wankhede passed the IRS exam by wrongly taking advantage of the reservation given to the backward classes.
Malik also raised questions about the viral photos of Wankhede's first wedding. However, Sameer Wankhede denied all the allegations and filed an affidavit in the court claiming that an attempt was being made to influence the investigation of the drug case.
He has also issued a press release stating that he and his family are being targeted. But the court has categorically refused to give any relief.
Meanwhile, witness Prabhakar Sail has also filed a complaint with the Mumbai Police commissioner. He recorded a statement against Wankhede, and has demanded protection from the Maharashtra government. While DDG Dnyaneshwar Singh of NCB has ordered an internal inquiry into the matter, they have also declared Sail to be a hostile witness.
Other Questions Remain Unanswered
So where is Gosavi? Who was he talking to on Aryan Khan's phone? What is the Dubai and Maldives angle in the case? Is NCB being used as a political tool?
In this case, the BJP in Maharashtra is now demanding a CBI inquiry, while Union Minister of State Ramdas Athawale is seemingly playing the Dalit card and threatening to hit the road in support of Wankhede.
Wankhede's wife actress Kranti Redkar is encouraging her husband through tweets, while leaders like Nawab Malik and Sanjay Raut are making the narrative more interesting by tweeting shero-shayari.
In the midst of all this, the credibility of a central agency like the NCB is at stake. There's been a huge list of questions that still remain unanswered in the minds of the public, unfortunately TV news channels continue to sensationalise the case instead of asking these most relevant questions.
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