The team of Delhi NCB SIT had called Arbaaz Merchantt and Achit Kumar for questioning. Both have reached the NCB office. In the 6 cases that NCB SIT is probing, all the accused will be called for questioning. Aryan Khan and Nawab Malik's son-in-law Sameer Khan were also summoned. Aryan Khan was asked to record his statement between 6 pm and 8 pm today. However, he missed the summons and told the NCB that he is suffering from a mild fever and therefore he won't appear today. He will come the day after tomorrow.
Meanwhile, a Special Investigation Team (SIT) of the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) reached Mumbai on Saturday, a day after the agency transferred to it the investigation in six cases, including the controversial cruise drugs case in which Shah Rukh Khan's son Aryan Khan was arrested. The team which flew in from Delhi, visited the NCB's zonal office in south Mumbai in the afternoon, an official said.
Senior IPS officer Sanjay Kumar Singh, DDG Operations at NCB headquarters, who is heading the SIT, said, "We have taken over some cases and will start our investigation into it."
When asked whether the cases would be re-investigated, he said, "Let me first see the case by case records and the progress in the investigation so far, then we will decide." "Right now, only further investigation will be conducted in those cases," he added.
The team will probe the six cases, which have national and international ramifications, in order to conduct deeper investigation to find out forward and backward linkages, the NCB had said on Friday.
NCB's zonal director Sameer Wankhede said he was not an investigating officer of these cases, adding that he was a supervisory officer as a zonal director and his role will continue to be the same.
Meanwhile, NCP leader Nawab Malik said skeletons will tumble out in the probe.
"I had demanded an SIT probe to investigate Sameer Dawood Wankhede for kidnapping of & ransom demand from Aryan Khan. Now 2 SITs are constituted (state & centre), let us see who brings out the skeletons from the closet of Wankhede and exposes him and his nefarious private army,” the senior Maharashtra minister tweeted.
The NCB had arrested Aryan Khan and at least 19 others in the drugs on cruise case last month and Wankhede has been facing a departmental vigilance probe after an independent witness in this case alleged an extortion bid by those involved in the investigation. Aryan Khan was released on bail on October 30.
Wankhede has denied any wrongdoing.
--With inputs from Rajeev Singh, Rajesh and PTI
