India, May 2 -- In a strongly worded affidavit before the Bombay High Court, former zonal director Sameer Wankhede has described the Narcotics Control Bureau's (NCB) issuance of notices to him over alleged irregularities in two cases he supervised as a "witch hunt" and a "media trial". The IRS officer has alleged that the agency deliberately "leaked sensitive details and confidential notices" to the press to settle personal scores and damage his public reputation.

According to the affidavit, 11 notices were issued to Wankhede based on an alleged anonymous complaint received by former minister Nawab Malik in 2021. The complaint flagged purported irregularities in the arrest of a Nigerian drug peddler and in a drug case involving UK-based ...