Sanjay Kumar Singh: The officer who probed the Commonwealth Games scam and will now investigate the Aryan Khan drugs case

The Narcotics Control Bureau on Friday evening transferred six cases, including the drug case against Bollywood star Shah Rukh Khan’s son Aryan Khan, from Mumbai Zone headed by Sameer Wankhede — to the Special Investigation Team (SIT) headed by IPS officer Sanjay Kumar Singh.

The move comes as Sameer Wankhede faces a slew of allegations — from bribery, extortion and questions over his 'extravagant' personal lifestyle.

So, who is this Sanjay Kumar Singh?

Sanjay Kumar Singh

Sanjay Kumar Singh, a 1996-batch Odisha cadre Indian Police Service officer, currently is the Deputy Director General (Operations) of the Narcotics Control Bureau.

He has also served in the Odisha Police as well as the Central Bureau of Investigation. While in the CBI, he also supervised the team that investigated the 2010 Commonwealth Games scam.

Sanjay Kumar Singh also headed the Drug Task Force (DTF) as an Additional Director General (ADG) during his time with the Odisha Police and busted several drug trafficking rackets in Bhubaneswar. He also carried out several anti-drug campaigns in the state of Odisha.

According to media reports, Sanjay Kumar Singh was sent on deputation to the NCB in January this year. According to another report, Sanjay Kumar Singh was due to retire on 31 January 2015. But he was sent on deputation to NCB till further orders and will continue as DDG till further orders.

Why the change?

The change in the investigations come as Sameer Wankhede faces several personal and service-related allegations. He has been accused by NCP leader and Maharashtra minister Nawab Malik of forging his documents to get a government job, lying about his religion and arresting people in "bogus" drugs cases, allegations he has denied.

An officer privy to the developments was quoted as saying, "The idea behind shifting these sensitive cases is to see them in a completely transparent prism of facts and evidence. The Central Unit will avoid unnecessary controversy around high-profile cases like Aryan Khan's."

Other cases

Apart from the Aryan Khan case, the Armaan Kohli case in which he was arrested by the NCB on 28 August for possessing 1.3 g of cocaine has also been transferred to the SIT, which will be handled by Sanjay Singh.