NEW DELHI: Former Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) zonal head Sameer Wankhede he had threatened to frame Arian Khan in a narcotics case unless actor Shah Rukh Khan’s family paid a bribe of Rs 25 crore, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) said in its FIR.
The FIR said Wankhede and some other agency officials even received a token amount of Rs 50 lakh as a bribe but some money was returned later due to the blocking of the case.
“Wankhede has planned Aryan’s arrest”
Details from the FIR, made public on Monday, revealed that independent witness KP Gosavi and a now deceased Prabhakar Sail were included by the NCB in the anti-drug raid of the cruise ship Cordelia on 2 October 2021 under Wankhede’s directions.
It said that Gosavi along with his aide was responsible for Aryan Khan’s arrest and had entered into conspiracy to “extort an amount” of Rs 25 crore from Aryan’s family members “by threatening them with charges of drug possession offenses “.
To let him walk free, Gosavi and D’Souza negotiated the amount down to Rs 18 crore and even collected a token of Rs 50 lakh and returned part of the amount later, the FIR said.
The NCB’s Special Inquiry Team (SET) in its findings, now part of the FIR, said Aryan Khan and other suspects in the Cordelia Ship drug bust case were taken to the NCB office in Gosavi’s private vehicle on 2 October 2021.
Wankhede, as direct supervisor, “had ordered” to take Gosavi and Prabhakar Sail as independent witnesses in the prosecution against the defendant in the drug arrest case, the FIR said.
He had directed then NCB Superintendent VV Singh to let Gosavi “handle the accused” as he took him to the NCB office “thus allowing a free hand” for him and others in order to create a visual impression that Gosavi had custody of the accused. he says he.
“It appeared that the presence of independent witness Gosavi around the accused persons was intentionally created in such a way as to give the impression that Gosavi was a member of NCB staff even though there were NCB personnel to manage the custody of the accused persons” , FIR said.
In violation of all the rules of independent testimony, Gosavi was allowed to be present in the company of the accused and even to go to the NCB office after the raid and took the liberty of taking selfies and recording the voice note of a defendant.
This stance “enabled” Gosavi and D’Souza to enter into “conspiracy” with others to allegedly demand a bribe from Shah Rukh Khan, officials said.
“Wankhede withheld information about overseas visits”
According to the FIR, Wankhede also withheld information regarding his travels abroad and the purchase of expensive watches.
SET red flagged the alleged improper explanations and apparent misstatement of “expenditure” given by then NCB Area Manager Wankhede during his overseas visits.
These findings were referred by the Center to the CBI which had filed an FIR against the officer and four others on 11 May.
“Furthermore, he has not properly stated the source of his overseas visits. Wankhede was also found to indulge in the sale and purchase of expensive wristwatches with a private entity, Viral Rajan, without notifying the department (present or parent)” the SET said in the reliefs that are now part of the FIR.
Aryan Khan was arrested in the alleged drug arrest case on the Cordelia cruise ship on Oct. 2, 2021, they said.
Wankhede and others were arrested on suspicion of conspiracy (120-B IPC) and threat of extortion (388 IPC) as well as bribery-related provisions under the Narcotics Control Bureau’s (NCB) Complaint Prevention of Corruption Act.
(With contributions from agencies)
The FIR said Wankhede and some other agency officials even received a token amount of Rs 50 lakh as a bribe but some money was returned later due to the blocking of the case.
“Wankhede has planned Aryan’s arrest”
Details from the FIR, made public on Monday, revealed that independent witness KP Gosavi and a now deceased Prabhakar Sail were included by the NCB in the anti-drug raid of the cruise ship Cordelia on 2 October 2021 under Wankhede’s directions.
It said that Gosavi along with his aide was responsible for Aryan Khan’s arrest and had entered into conspiracy to “extort an amount” of Rs 25 crore from Aryan’s family members “by threatening them with charges of drug possession offenses “.
To let him walk free, Gosavi and D’Souza negotiated the amount down to Rs 18 crore and even collected a token of Rs 50 lakh and returned part of the amount later, the FIR said.
The NCB’s Special Inquiry Team (SET) in its findings, now part of the FIR, said Aryan Khan and other suspects in the Cordelia Ship drug bust case were taken to the NCB office in Gosavi’s private vehicle on 2 October 2021.
Wankhede, as direct supervisor, “had ordered” to take Gosavi and Prabhakar Sail as independent witnesses in the prosecution against the defendant in the drug arrest case, the FIR said.
He had directed then NCB Superintendent VV Singh to let Gosavi “handle the accused” as he took him to the NCB office “thus allowing a free hand” for him and others in order to create a visual impression that Gosavi had custody of the accused. he says he.
“It appeared that the presence of independent witness Gosavi around the accused persons was intentionally created in such a way as to give the impression that Gosavi was a member of NCB staff even though there were NCB personnel to manage the custody of the accused persons” , FIR said.
In violation of all the rules of independent testimony, Gosavi was allowed to be present in the company of the accused and even to go to the NCB office after the raid and took the liberty of taking selfies and recording the voice note of a defendant.
This stance “enabled” Gosavi and D’Souza to enter into “conspiracy” with others to allegedly demand a bribe from Shah Rukh Khan, officials said.
“Wankhede withheld information about overseas visits”
According to the FIR, Wankhede also withheld information regarding his travels abroad and the purchase of expensive watches.
SET red flagged the alleged improper explanations and apparent misstatement of “expenditure” given by then NCB Area Manager Wankhede during his overseas visits.
These findings were referred by the Center to the CBI which had filed an FIR against the officer and four others on 11 May.
“Furthermore, he has not properly stated the source of his overseas visits. Wankhede was also found to indulge in the sale and purchase of expensive wristwatches with a private entity, Viral Rajan, without notifying the department (present or parent)” the SET said in the reliefs that are now part of the FIR.
Aryan Khan was arrested in the alleged drug arrest case on the Cordelia cruise ship on Oct. 2, 2021, they said.
Wankhede and others were arrested on suspicion of conspiracy (120-B IPC) and threat of extortion (388 IPC) as well as bribery-related provisions under the Narcotics Control Bureau’s (NCB) Complaint Prevention of Corruption Act.
(With contributions from agencies)
