Prabhakar Sail, one of the prime witnesses in the Aryan Khan drug case reportedly died on Friday, April 1. News agency ANI Saturday quoted his lawyer, Tushar Khandare as confirming that the Narcotics Control Bureau’s witness Prabhakar Sail died of a heart attack at his residence in the Mahul area of Chembur in Mumbai. He was 37.
“NCB’s panch witness in Cordelia cruise drug case, Prabhakar Sail died yesterday. As per his lawyer Tushar Khandare, he died of a heart attack at his residence in the Mahul area of Chembur yesterday,” ANI tweeted.
Mumbai | NCB’s panch witness in Cordelia cruise drug case, Prabhakar Sail died yesterday. As per his lawyer Tushar Khandare, he died of a heart attack at his residence in Mahul area of Chembur yesterday.
— ANI (@ANI) April 2, 2022
(File pic of Prabhakar Sail) pic.twitter.com/CUplYNkuIh
According to a report by India Today, Prabhakar Sail’s family do not ‘suspect any foul play’.
Prabhakar Sail was the bodyguard of KP Gosavi, whose photographs with Aryan Khan had gone viral on social media after the latter’s arrest. Gosavi was an independent witness of the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) in the Cordelia cruise ship drug bust case on October 2 involving Aryan Khan.
After Gosawi’s role became doubtful and he was arrested by Pune police in a cheating case lodged in 2018 pending before them, Sail filed an affidavit. As per documents of one of the documents of an NCB Special Investigation Team (SIT) stated that Sail had turned hostile in the Aryan Khan drugs case.
The drug probe case had got under relentless political attacks, especially by NCP leader and minister Nawab Malik, whose own son-in-law was arrested in an NCB drug case in January 2021 and remained in jail for over 8 months. It was alleged that Malik’s repeated personal attacks against NCB officer Sameer Wankhede and attempt to derail the cruise ship drug bust case are indicative of a personal vendetta by the minister.
Aryan Khan drug case
On October 3, 2021, Aryan Khan, Arbaaz Merchant and other 6 people were detained from a luxury cruise liner where a rave party was going on. As per reports, cocaine and ecstasy pills were found on Khan and others with him.
The Court had then held that a prima facie case is made out against Khan and other co-accused. “Investigation is of prime importance and the presence of the accused is needed for detailed investigation. It is useful for both the prosecution and the accused to prove their innocence,” it said.
However, Aryan Khan was granted relief by the Bombay High Court in December 2021 after it modified its bail conditions to appear before NCB weekly.
