The NCB Special Investigation Team (SIT) that probed the Cordelia cruise drug case and exonerated Aryan Khan and five other accused individuals, has said that the allegations levelled by Sameer Wankhede in his affidavit, claiming that the SIT manipulated the charge sheet and removed Khan’s name despite it being included in the Department Legal Advisor’s (DLA) report, are baseless and misleading. Wankhede should present evidence to support his claims, as there are multiple pieces of evidence indicating his attempts to frame Aryan, though his name was not mentioned in the original information received by the NCB,” an officer from the SIT told mid-day.

Wankhede’s petition

The former zonal director of the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) Mumbai, Wankhede, in his writ petition before the Bombay High court, has alleged that the Department Legal Advisor (DLA) Japan Babu had proposed Aryan Khan’s name under various sections of NDPS Act, but it was never submitted in the court. The SIT got a separate draft prepared from outside which was presented before the court. To substantiate his claim, Wankhede has also said that he has a recording of the call between the DLA officer Babu and him on June 2, 2022. As per Wankhede’s claim the call  lasted for 10 minutes.