New Delhi: Prabhakar Sail, an independent witness of the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) in the 2021 drugs case involving Aryan Khan, died of a heart attack at his residence in suburban Chembur, police said on Saturday.
“Prabhakar Sail, 37, died of a heart attack at his house in Mahul on Friday evening,” a police official said.
“He was rushed to the civic-run Rajawadi Hospital in Ghatkopar, where he was declared brought dead,” he said.
Sail’s lawyer Tushar Khandare confirmed that Sail died after he suffered a heart attack and that his family members do not suspect any foul play.
Sail was the personal security guard of another witness, K.P. Gosavi, in the drug cruise case.
After Gosavi had posted a picture of himself with Aryan and was seen pulling his hand and taking him to the NCB office, Maharashtra cabinet minister Nawab Malik had raised questions over Gosavi being made a witness in the case.
After Gosavi’s role became suspect and he was arrested by Pune police in a case pending before them, Sail filed an affidavit, India Today reported.
Also read: Why Aryan Khan? And Other Questions About NCB’s ‘Cruise Drugs Party’ Raid
In his affidavit, Sail had alleged that he had heard Gosavi discuss a Rs 25-crore pay-off deal after Aryan Khan was arrested during a raid on a cruise ship off the Mumbai coast on October 3 last year.
The NCB had told the court that Sail had turned hostile and his affidavit was still pending before the court.
According to the report, another witness in the case, Sam D’souza, too alleged that Gosavi and Sail had taken money. However, the allegations levelled by each one is still under probe when Sail has passed away.
Aryan Khan was named an accused in the case along with 19 others by the NCB. The accused persons were booked under relevant sections of the Narcotics Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act for alleged possession, consumption, sale/purchase of banned drugs, conspiracy and abetment, among others.
Of the 20 arrested accused in the case, only two are currently in judicial custody and the rest are out on bail.
(With PTI inputs)