Cruise drug bust case: Wankhede calls bribe allegations imaginary | Bombay News

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Mumbai: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Sunday questioned Sameer Wankhede, former Mumbai Area Director of the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB), for about five hours as part of its investigation into the corruption charges against he and four other people in connection with the October 2021 Cordelia crosses a drug case.

Mumbai, India – 20th May 2023: Former Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) officer Sameer Wankhade reached Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) for questioning at BKC in Mumbai, India on Saturday May 20, 2023. ( Photo by Satish Bate/Hindustan Times) (Hindustan Times)

According to agency sources, Wankhede told the CBI that the allegations against him, regarding the arrest of Aryan Khan being only an attempt to demand money instead of his release / not not reserve it for possession of narcotics, were false and the product of an unbridled imagination. .

The Indian Revenue Service (IRS) agent had arrived at the CBI office at the Bandra-Kurla compound at around 10:40 a.m. on Sunday. At around 1:20 p.m., CBI officials had allowed him out for lunch for about an hour. Wankhede left the CBI office around 4:26 p.m. He said only, Satyamev Jayate (truth alone triumphs), while refusing to speak to the media.

CBI sources said Wankhede was questioned about the main allegations contained in the agency’s first briefing report that he filed on May 11. Mumbai NCB Zonal Unit along with individuals namely KP Gosavi, Sanville DSouza and unknowns.

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The agency accused the five people in the case of conspiring to extort 25 crore from Shah Rukh Khan instead of not engaging his son Aryan Khan in the case and then obtaining a bribe. actor’s 50 lakh wine.

On October 2, 2021, a team from the Mumbai BCN Area Unit raided the Cordelia bound for Goa and arrested Aryan Khan, his friend Arbaaz Merchant and others including two women. The BCN said it also seized narcotics. In May 2022, the NCB gave a free kick to Aryan and five others.

The CBIs case is linked to revelations made by Prabhakar Sail, an independent witness in the NCB case.

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Wankhede argued before the CBI that the allegations were false and could be clearly seen from WhatsApp messages sent by the Aryans’ father, Shah Rukh Khan. Wankhede claimed Khan not only praised Wankhedes’ integrity but also expressed anguish over political involvement in the case, the sources said, adding that the IRS officer claimed that Khan’s tone would have been different had he attempted to demand a bribe. for freeing or giving some relief to his son.

The WhatsApp chats between the two allegedly took place between October 3 and October 15, 2021 and according to Wankhede.

Wankhede also told the CBI that Aryan had, through his written submission filed in a bail application dated October 26, 2021, before the Bombay High Court, denied any connection to the corruption allegations surfacing against the first on public/social media, the sources said. .

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Wankhede also maintained that Aryan confirmed he had no connection/concern with Prabhakar Sail, an independent witness in the NCB case, who made the corruption allegations via an affidavit dated October 23, 2021.

Wankhede said the special investigation team which looked into Sails’ allegations had to close its investigation because no one had appeared before it.

Wankhede also claimed that the Mumbai Zonal Unit, which worked under him, arrested Aryan on October 3, 2021 in the case under the supervision of the then three Deputy Chief Executives of the NCB and the Chief Executive of the NCB of the time. Wankhede also accused an NCB superior of acting as complainant, investigator, judge and witness and of attempting to conceal his own conduct.

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Sources said that Wankhede also mentioned the case of Sudhakar Shinde, a former junior intelligence officer of Mumbai area NCBs, who was repatriated to his parent organization in July 2022 after departmental proceedings. Wankhede referred to the charge sheet that had been issued to Shinde, in which a senior BCN officer was named as a witness when he was part of the vigilance team. The same senior NCB officer was also Wankhedes’ superior in the drug seizure case. Shinde was charged with misconduct, while part of the NCB team that carried out a search and seizure operation at the home of a suspect, Aachit Kumar, on October 5, 2021. Kumar allegedly exchanged conversations WhatsApp with Aryan regarding the purchase of narcotics. .

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