Mumbai cops receive 4 pleas alleging extortion by Wankhede, launch enquiry

The Mumbai Police have received four applications so far alleging extortion by NCB Mumbai zonal director Sameer Wankhede and other officials, and have launched an enquiry to verify these claims.

The Mumbai Police on Tuesday said they have received four applications so far alleging extortion by Narcotics Control Bureau's (NCB) Mumbai zonal director Sameer Wankhede and other officials, and have launched an enquiry to verify these claims.

One of the applications was sent by NCB independent witness Prabhakar Sail who had alleged that he had overheard K P Gosavi, another witness in the cruise ship raid case, talking to one Sam D'Souza over the phone about a demand of Rs 25 crore including Rs 8 crore for Sameer Wankhede.

Earlier this month, a team led by Sameer Wankhede had raided a cruise ship off the coast of Mumbai and claimed to have recovered drugs. The team arrested Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan's son Aryan Khan in the case along with others.

Sail has sent the application against NCB officers to the Mumbai Police.

"We have clubbed all the four applications filed against NCB officers including zonal director Sameer Wankhede. We have launched an enquiry to verify the claims," a senior officer said.

He said all these applications have been marked to Mata Ramabai Ambedkar Marg police station and an officer of the rank of Assistant Commissioner of Police has launched the enquiry.

However, police refused to disclose the identity and contents of the applications filed against NCB officers.

Police will also verify claims made by Prabhakar Sail, another official said.

Police teams are verifying locations of mobile phone numbers as well as CCTV footages of various places mentioned in Sail's application, he said.

Appropriate action will be taken after enquiry, he said.

Meanwhile, Mumbai Police have also received two applications against cabinet minister and NCP leader Nawab Malik, the official said without elaborating.

Malik has raised a string of allegations against Sameer Wankhede, an IRS officer, and also accused him of forging his documents to secure job.