MUMBAI: The CBI has filed a bribery case against Sameer Wankhede, the former Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) Western Region chief, and three others for allegedly extorting Rs 50 lakh from actor Shah Rukh Khan in dab drug case October 2021 cruise involving his son Ariano Khan.
Wankhede and the others are accused of asking the actor for 25 million rupees to clear his son of drug possession charges.
The CBI had searched 29 locations in Mumbai, Delhi, Ranchi, Lucknow and Chennai, including Wankhede’s home in Goregaon West.
Wankhede, an Indian Revenue Service official, led the investigation into the case against Aryan Khan.
The others accused in the case include intelligence officer Ashish Ranjan and fired superintendent Vishwa Vijay Singh, who were part of the probe team, and two individuals, Kiran Gosavi and Sanvile D’Souza.
On October 2, 2021, the NCB conducted a raid on the cruise ship Cordelia, after receiving a tip that the drug was being consumed during an onboard rave party, and arrested several people, including Aryan.
Singh was fired on Tuesday for misconduct in another case in which he was suspended. Ranjan was also suspended for allegedly failing to present a strong case before a court hearing a bail request from an accused in another drug case. Gosavi was an expert witness in the drug case. Gosavi, according to his bodyguard Prabhakar Sail, had discussed a request for Rs 25 crore with Sam D’Souza over the phone. This conversation also referred to a Rs 8 crore payment to Wankhede, who had denied the allegations.
However, allegations by NCP leader Nawab Malik that NCB officers were using false witnesses and flimsy evidence to make high-profile arrests on drug possession charges have exposed some of the cases. A Special Investigation Team was set up to probe them. A selfie by witness Gosavi with Aryan Khan inside the NCB office went viral raising questions about the credibility of the NCB’s action.
The NCB SIT (Special Investigation Team) in a subsequent investigation said that it appeared that the investigating officer was motivated to somehow implicate Aryan Khan in the drug case. “It is strange to note that, despite Arbaaz’s (merchant) flat denial, regarding Aryan’s involvement in drug procurement and possession on his part, the investigating officer started looking at Aryan’s WhatsApp chats without even formally seizing Aryan’s mobile,” the report said. NCB had claimed to have recovered six gm charas from Merchant, described by the agency as a friend of Aryan.
The CBI in a press release on Friday said that Wankhede and others “had entered into conspiracy” and “allegedly obtained an unfair advantage in the form of bribes” from Aryan Khan and others… “It was also alleged that the said persons entered into conspiracy to extort a sum of Rs 25 crore (approximately) from the family members of the alleged accused by threatening them” with the charge of “possession of narcotics according to the alleged indications of the then area manager who was the ‘supervisory officer. A token amount of Rs. 50 lakh as a bribe was allegedly obtained in support of this conspiracy from the above persons.”
Gosavi’s private bodyguard Prabhakar Sail (died last April) in an affidavit filed in court soon after the raid brought serious allegations of a huge payoff to Gosavi, a mysterious meeting between Gosavi and Shah Rukh Khan’s manager Pooja Dadlani hours after raid on Cruise and also alleged threat to his life. Sail said he was instructed by Gosavi to go to the NCB office on Oct. 2 (the raid happened late at night). Sail’s affidavit mentions Gosavi meeting with NCB officials and seeing Khan in one of the cruise ship’s staterooms.
The municipal police had set up a SIT to investigate a case extortion but failed to come to any conclusions as Dadlani failed to appear despite several call-ups being issued.
Clock CBI raids former NCB officer Sameer Wankhede’s residence in Mumbai, files corruption case
Wankhede and the others are accused of asking the actor for 25 million rupees to clear his son of drug possession charges.
The CBI had searched 29 locations in Mumbai, Delhi, Ranchi, Lucknow and Chennai, including Wankhede’s home in Goregaon West.
Wankhede, an Indian Revenue Service official, led the investigation into the case against Aryan Khan.
The others accused in the case include intelligence officer Ashish Ranjan and fired superintendent Vishwa Vijay Singh, who were part of the probe team, and two individuals, Kiran Gosavi and Sanvile D’Souza.
On October 2, 2021, the NCB conducted a raid on the cruise ship Cordelia, after receiving a tip that the drug was being consumed during an onboard rave party, and arrested several people, including Aryan.
Singh was fired on Tuesday for misconduct in another case in which he was suspended. Ranjan was also suspended for allegedly failing to present a strong case before a court hearing a bail request from an accused in another drug case. Gosavi was an expert witness in the drug case. Gosavi, according to his bodyguard Prabhakar Sail, had discussed a request for Rs 25 crore with Sam D’Souza over the phone. This conversation also referred to a Rs 8 crore payment to Wankhede, who had denied the allegations.
However, allegations by NCP leader Nawab Malik that NCB officers were using false witnesses and flimsy evidence to make high-profile arrests on drug possession charges have exposed some of the cases. A Special Investigation Team was set up to probe them. A selfie by witness Gosavi with Aryan Khan inside the NCB office went viral raising questions about the credibility of the NCB’s action.
The NCB SIT (Special Investigation Team) in a subsequent investigation said that it appeared that the investigating officer was motivated to somehow implicate Aryan Khan in the drug case. “It is strange to note that, despite Arbaaz’s (merchant) flat denial, regarding Aryan’s involvement in drug procurement and possession on his part, the investigating officer started looking at Aryan’s WhatsApp chats without even formally seizing Aryan’s mobile,” the report said. NCB had claimed to have recovered six gm charas from Merchant, described by the agency as a friend of Aryan.
The CBI in a press release on Friday said that Wankhede and others “had entered into conspiracy” and “allegedly obtained an unfair advantage in the form of bribes” from Aryan Khan and others… “It was also alleged that the said persons entered into conspiracy to extort a sum of Rs 25 crore (approximately) from the family members of the alleged accused by threatening them” with the charge of “possession of narcotics according to the alleged indications of the then area manager who was the ‘supervisory officer. A token amount of Rs. 50 lakh as a bribe was allegedly obtained in support of this conspiracy from the above persons.”
Gosavi’s private bodyguard Prabhakar Sail (died last April) in an affidavit filed in court soon after the raid brought serious allegations of a huge payoff to Gosavi, a mysterious meeting between Gosavi and Shah Rukh Khan’s manager Pooja Dadlani hours after raid on Cruise and also alleged threat to his life. Sail said he was instructed by Gosavi to go to the NCB office on Oct. 2 (the raid happened late at night). Sail’s affidavit mentions Gosavi meeting with NCB officials and seeing Khan in one of the cruise ship’s staterooms.
The municipal police had set up a SIT to investigate a case extortion but failed to come to any conclusions as Dadlani failed to appear despite several call-ups being issued.
Clock CBI raids former NCB officer Sameer Wankhede’s residence in Mumbai, files corruption case
