Mumbai, Nov 6: A Special Investigation Team (SIT) comprising officers from the Operations Branch of Narcotics Control Bureau Headquarters in New Delhi arrived in Mumbai on Saturday to take over six cases, including the drugs-on-cruise case from NCB Mumbai Zonal Unit being probed by Sameer Wankhede.

Speaking to media persons at Mumbai airport, NCB Deputy Director General Sanjay Kumar Singh said that they have taken the probe of over a total of six cases. He further said that the team will take the assistance of NCB Zonal Director Sameer Wankhede. “We have taken over a group of 6 cases. He (Sameer Wankhede) is the zonal director of Mumbai, we will definitely take his assistance in the investigation,” Singh said.

Speaking to ANI over the phone, an NCB official said that Sameer Wankhede is an Officer of Zonal Director Rank which is equivalent to the rank of a Deputy Inspector General (DIG) and such a senior officer does not become the investigating officer of any case. “He/She just supervises any investigation of the zone. So it’s baseless to say that Sameer Wankhede will cease to investigate these 6 cases. Actually, he was never investigating these cases,” he said.

Commenting over the developments, Wankhede said: “I was never the investigating officer of the cases. I am still the zonal director. I have not been removed from my posts. In fact, I demanded in the petition to investigate the allegations over me by central agencies.” “I have not been removed from the investigation. It was my writ petition in court that the matter be probed by a central agency. So Aryan case and Sameer Khan case are being probed by Delhi NCB’s SIT. It is in coordination between NCB teams of Delhi and Mumbai,” he told ANI.