Questions raised about death of key witness in Aryan Khan drugs case
Prabhakar Sail, a key witness in the Aryan Khan case, died from a heart attack
After the death of Prabhakar Sail, a key witness in the Aryan Khan case, NCP leader Mejeed Memon on Sunday raised suspicions about the incident.
“A vital witness in Aryan Khan drug case dies suddenly creating suspicion about something wrong somewhere,” Memon posted in a tweet.
The Maharashtra government on Saturday ordered the police to probe Sail’s sudden demise.
After doubts were raised over the death of Sail — a key ‘panch witness’ in the infamous Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) raids on the Cordelia Cruise ship last October, Maharashtra Home Minister Dilip Walse-Patil directed the Mumbai Police to investigate.
Sail, in his mid-40s, reportedly suffered a cardiac arrest at his home in Mahul, Chembur, according to his lawyer Tushar Khandare.
Terming it as a ‘suspicious development’, NCP chief spokesperson Mahesh Tapase demanded a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe.
BJP legislator Atul Bhatkalkar wondered whether Sail had meted a fate similar to the Thane businessman Mansukh Hiran, who was found murdered after the sensational case involving an SUV with 20 gelatin sticks was recovered near the home of industrialist Mukesh Ambani erupted in February 2021.
Soon after the October 2, 2021 raids aboard the cruiser, Sail had created a stir accusing then NCB Mumbai Zonal Director Sameer Wankhede of various irregularities, and hurled allegations of extortion from Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan whose son Aryan was among those detained and later arrested.
Besides Aryan Khan, around 19 others were nabbed and two are still in custody, while the NCB has been granted two months’ extension to file its charge sheet in the Cordelia Cruise ship swoop case.
Sail — who was described as a personal bodyguard of another independent witness and a BJP activist K.P. Gosavi, had later made several shocking revelations that raised serious questions on the NCB raids and Wankhede.