Drugs case: Kiran Gosavi, NCB's ‘key witness’, detained in Pune

Kiran Gosavi, the NCB witness in the Mumbai drugs-on-cruise case, has now been detained in Pune in connection with a 2018 cheating case, reported the ANI news agency on Thursday, citing the police commissioner of Pune. Prabhakar Sail, a bodyguard of NCB witness Kiran Gosavi, had earlier alleged that Gosavi took ₹50 lakh from an individual after the raid at the cruise ship. Gosavi however, has denied the allegations.

Before being detained, Gosavi was on Thursday quoted by the news agency as saying, "Prabhakar Sail is lying. All I want to request is that his CDR report be released; if my CDR report or chats can be released, Prabhakar Sail and his brother's CDR reports, as well as chats, should also be released. Only then will everything be clear."

Gosavi further said, "At least one minister or any leader of the opposition from Maharashtra must stand with me." He said that the politician(s) could "at least request the Mumbai police to release what I am demanding" [the aforementioned CDR and chats of Prabhakar Sail).

"Once his reports come out, everything will clear," Gosavi added.

Meanwhile, the Mumbai Police recorded over the course of this week the statement of Prabhakar Sail, who is considered an "independent witness" in the NCB. His complaints alleging that NCB officers, including zonal director Sameer Wankhede, probing the drugs case are involved in extortion have been clubbed together with three other complaints filed by lawyers Sudha Dwivedi, Kanishka Jain, and Nitin Deshmukh. A new four-members inquiry team set up by the Mumbai Police, led by assistant commissioner of police Milind Khetle, will be looking into these complaints, officials familiar with the development told the PTI news agency.

The NCB, too, is conducting its own inquiry into the alleged extortion complaints against its officers. A probe team, led by NCB deputy director-general (Northern Region) Gyaneshwar Singh, will investigate allegations of corruption levelled by Prabhakar Sail; the investigation started a day prior through an affidavit. An NCB team from Delhi is also set to question two officers of NCB Mumbai today, along with conducting additional questioning of Wankhede.

A day ago, Gyaneshwar Singh told reporters that the five-member inquiry team of NCB has started investigating the allegations levelled by Prabhakar Sail. "We requested the Southwest region office to get notice served to key witnesses KP Gosavi and Sail but they could not be contacted," he had said. "Through media, I request them to join the investigation and give evidence before the special inquiry team which is camping at CRPF mess in Bandra, Mumbai."

However, the probe agency has made it clear that NCB zonal director Sameer Wankhede will remain the investigating officer in the drugs-on-cruise case until substantial information is found against him. "If necessary, more evidence and documents will be sought from him," a senior NCB official was quoted as saying. "He [Wankhede] will remain the investigating officer in the drugs-on-cruise ship case until substantial information is found against him."