The Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) began investigating claims on Monday that its Mumbai zonal director, Sameer Wankhede, was involved in a 25 crore extortion racket following the arrest of actor Shah Rukh Khan’s son, Aryan Khan, in a narcotics raid.
The Narcotics Control Bureau’s vigilance squad, led by DDG NR Gyaneshwar Singh, would launch an investigation into severe claims of “extortion” made by an independent witness in the Mumbai cruise narcotics case.
The testimonies of NCB Mumbai zonal director Sameer Wankhede and others would be recorded by the vigilance chief. He will also examine the evidence presented by the independent witness, Prabhakar Sail, and prepare a complete report to be submitted to the NCB DG.
Earlier today, Sail, one of the case’s witnesses, claimed that officials from the federal anti-narcotics agency forced him to sign around ten blank papers and that he overheard a phone conversation about extortion of Rs 25 crore from Bollywood megastar Shah Rukh Khan, whose son, Aryan Khan, is one of the accused. Aryan is currently incarcerated at the Arthur Road Jail.
Sail, who served as a bodyguard for another witness in the case, K P Gosavi, claimed he overheard a phone discussion concerning a Rs 25 crore demand and a final settlement of Rs 18 crore because they had to “pay Rs eight crore to (Sameer) Wankhede.”
According to Sail, the Bollywood actor’s son has been framed in the matter, and he even has a shred of evidence to back up his accusations.
The startling claims sparked a significant uproar. Following that, the drug enforcement agency announced that Mumbai zonal chief Sameer Wankhade had dismissed the charges, saying that because the matter is still pending, the witness should have filed a request in court if he meant to say anything.
Wankhede then wrote to the Mumbai Police Commissioner, pleading with him to “see that no hasty legal action is taken to implicate me with ulterior objectives.”
Sameer Wankhede, the Zonal Director of the Mumbai NCB, has strongly disputed these charges. “Because part of the contents of the document are connected to vigilance matters, we are thus submitting the affidavit to the Director General (DG) NCB and demanding further appropriate action,” said Mumbai NCB’s DDG Mutha Ashok Jain in a statement.
An FIR has been filed with extortion charges made by an independent witness in the Cordelia Cruise drug bust case involving Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan’s son Aryan Khan.
On Monday, Prabhakar Sail, an independent witness in the case, went to the Sahar police station and filed an FIR alleging that some NCB officials, including the agency’s Mumbai zonal director Sameer Wankhede, attempted to extort Rs 25 crore from Shah Rukh Khan after detaining his son from the Cordelia cruise.
Ordered vigilance investigation
The shocking charges sparked a tremendous backlash, causing the federal anti-drug agency to launch a vigilant investigation. The probe will be led by NCB DDG Gyaneshwar Singh, who also serves as the agency’s chief vigilance officer and reports to the NCB DG.
When asked if any officers were involved in the alleged extortion attempt, Gyaneshwar Singh told, “It would be premature to comment on the participation of any authorities or any independent individual at this time.”
Meanwhile, Mumbai zonal chief Sameer Wankhade has denied the claims and asked the Mumbai Police Commissioner to “see that no hasty legal action is taken out to frame me with ulterior objectives.”
The NCB formally detained Aryan Khan on October 3. He is now imprisoned in Arthur Road Jail, and the Bombay High Court is set to hear his bail application forthwith.
