‘Conspiracy to extort Rs 25 crore’ from Aryan Khan and other controversies of Sameer Wankhede

Former Narcotics Control Bureau officer Sameer Wankhede is under the scanner of the Central Bureau of Investigation.Wankhede and others have been accused of allegedly demanding a bribe worth Rs 25 crore from Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan in the drugs-on-cruise case in which his son Aryan was arrested.Let’s take a look at the case against Wankhede and the other controversies he has been involved in:‘Demanded a bribe’The CBI registered a case against Wankhede and three others in connection with a corruption case related to drugs-on-cruise case.Sources said Rs 25 crore was demanded to settle the matter and Rs 50 lakh had already been delivered. CBI received a tip-off and accordingly searches were conductedThe agency on Friday raided 29 locations in Mumbai, Delhi, Ranchi (Jharkhand) and Kanpur (Uttar Pradesh).The NCB, which had filed a charge-sheet in the drugs-on-cruise case, gave a clean chit to Aryan Khan, while an SIT set up by the anti-drugs agency claimed the probe led by Wankhede had lapses.They said the searches were spread across 29 locations across Mumbai, Delhi, Ranchi and Kanpur.It is alleged that IRS officer Wankhede and others had allegedly demanded Rs 25 crore bribe for not framing Aryan Khan in the alleged drug bust, they said.The CBI received information that Rs 50 lakh was allegedly collected by the officer and his accomplice as advance, the officials said.The details of FIR made public on Monday show that independent witness KP Gosavi and one Prabhakar Sail, now deceased, were included by the NCB in the Cordelia cruise ship drug raid on 2 October, 2021 on the directions of Wankhede.Gosavi in conspiracy with his aide Sanvile D’Souza and others had entered into the conspiracy to “extort an amount” of Rs 25 crore from the family members of Aryan, son of Shah Rukh Khan, by “threatening them of the accusation of offences of possession of Narcotics substances”.[caption id="attachment_12570172" align="alignnone" width="640"] Aryan Khan's name was not included in the list of accused in the NCB charge sheet.[/caption]In order to let him walk free, Gosavi and D’Souza negotiated the amount bringing it down to Rs 18 crore and even collected a token of Rs 50 lakh and returned a part of the amount later, the FIR alleged.Aryan Khan, who was formally arrested by the NCB on 3 October, 2021 after a raid on the Cordelia cruise ship a day before, was granted bail by the Bombay High Court on October 28 after he had spent 25 days in jail.But his name was not included in the list of accused in the NCB charge sheet for a lack of evidence.The SET in its findings, now part of the FIR, said Aryan Khan and other suspects in the Cordelia Ship drugs bust case were brought to the NCB office in Gosavi’s private vehicle on 2 Octobe, 2021.Wankhede in the capacity of the immediate supervisory officer “had directed” to take Gosavi and Prabhakar Sail as the independent witness in the proceedings against the accused in the drug bust case, the FIR states.He had directed then NCB Superintendent V V Singh to let Gosavi “handle the accused” while taking him to the NCB Office thereby “allowing a freehand” to him and others in order to create a visual impression that Gosavi had the custody of the accused, it says. “It appeared that the presence of the independent witness Gosavi around accused persons was created intentionally in such a manner so as to give an impression that Gosavi was an NCB personnel even though there were NCB personnel to handle the custody of the accused persons,” the FIR made public on Monday states.Violating all norms of independent witness, Gosavi was allowed to be present in the company of the accused persons and even allowed to come to the NCB office after the raid and took the freedom to click selfies and recorded the voice note of an accused.This position “allowed” Gosavi and D’Souza to enter in the “conspiracy” with others to allegedly demand the bribe from Shah Rukh Khan, they officials said.Flagging other irregularities, the SET of NCB said the names of certain suspects were dropped from the information note ‘I-Note’ and certain other names of were included subsequently through modification to suit the proceedings.The initial I-Note contained 27 names and the modified I-Note contained only 10 names, it said.The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) booked 2008-batch IRS officer Wankhede and four others — Vishwa Vijay Singh, Intelligence Officer Ashish Ranjan, and two private persons K P Gosavi and Sanvile D’Souza — for alleged criminal conspiracy (120-B IPC), and threat of extortion (388 IPC) besides provisions pertaining to bribery under the Prevention of Corruption Act on a complaint from the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB).Wankhede, who headed the Narcotics Control Bureau in Mumbai at the time of Aryan Khan’s arrest, was transferred to the Directorate General of Taxpayer Services in Chennai last May.‘Assets exceed income’According to The Print, an initial investigation by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) determined that Wankhede has assets that exceed his income.“He owns five properties, some in his name and some in his family’s name in Mumbai. Among these are residential and commercial properties including a bar that is in his own name,” a source told The Print.

“No officer with that salary can own such expensive real estate.”

Wankhede has claimed that the four property papers that the CBI recovered were acquired before he joined the service.[caption id="attachment_10091281" align="alignnone" width="643"] Sameer Wankhede at the NCB's office in Ballard Estate in south Mumbai and the CRPF mess in suburban Bandra. News18[/caption]“No public servant can run a parallel business like he was doing. He had started thinking he was bigger than the law. It is during the inquiry that all these things came to fore,” a senior NCB officer told the outlet. “The CBI has conducted an enquiry of their own, following which they have registered a case against him,” the officer said.Caste certificate, bar rowIn October 2021, politician Nawab Malik claimed that Wankhede was born a Muslim but forged documents including a caste certificate to get a government job.A qazi who performed Wankhede’s first marriage in 2006 claimed that he belonged to a Muslim family otherwise the 'nikah' would not have been solemnised as per Islam.“I had performed the 'nikah' of Sameer Wankhede and Shabana Qureshi (his first wife). Her father had approached me to perform the marriage in the Lokhandwala complex area of Mumbai. The groom's name was Sameer Dawood Wankhede who married Shabana Qureshi,” Maulana Mujammil Ahmed told a news channel.The maulana claimed all the witnesses had signed the 'nikahnama' as per Islamic customs.Wankhede at the time said he had married according to the Muslim customs to honour the wishes of his late mother."Fulfilling the wish of one's mother in a secular country is not a crime. I am proud of secularism in our country. My mother was a Muslim and my father is a Hindu. I love both of them very much, " Wankhede had told PTI.Wankhede said that he never converted to Islam and he belongs to a Hindu caste.He said his first marriage was registered under the Special Marriage Act within a month. "The process of divorce was also completed as per the Special Marriage Act. I was never converted to Islam and I belong to a Hindu caste of my family," Wankhede said.Wankhede in August 2022 was given a clean chit by the Cast Scrutiny Committee in this case, as per India Today.According to Hindustan Times, Malik also claimed Wankhede owned a bar in Navi Mumbai and that he received the license when he was just 17 years old.Malik had also said that despite being in a government job, Wankhede held a licence to operate the permit room which was against service rules.

Wankhede had at the time denied the minister's claims.

The state excise department had subsequently issued a notice to Wankhede in connection with the bar licence obtained by him.In February 2022, the Thane district collector cancelling the bar license said it was obtained by misrepresentation and fraud.Following his response and examination of the matter, the district collector concluded that Wankhede had obtained the licence on 27 October, 1997, when he was less than 18 years old, as against the permissible age of 21, an official said.Wankhede, wife deny bribery allegationsWankhede’s wife Kranti on Sunday said that everyone knows that the allegations being levelled against former NCB officer are wrong.[caption id="attachment_12599682" align="alignnone" width="640"] Kranti Redkar Wankhede came to her husband's defence on Saturday. News18[/caption]“Everyone knows that the allegations being levelled against him are wrong. These are just allegations and we are fully cooperating in the CBI proceedings. We have faith in law and order, and we are ready to cooperate with the investigating agency as a responsible citizen,” Kranti Redkar Wankhede told ANI.

Wankhede on Saturday claimed that he was being punished for being a patriot.

Wankhede alleged that 18 CBI officials raided his house while his wife and children were present in his house.“I am getting rewarded for being a patriot, yesterday 18 CBI officials raided my residence and searched it for more than 12 hours while my wife and children were present in the house. They found Rs 23,000 and four property papers. These assets were acquired before I joined the service,” said Wankhede.Wankhede further claimed that CBI officials also took the phone of his wife Kranti Redkar in their possession.Apart from that, CBI recovered Rs 28,000 from his sister Yasmin Wankhede’s house and Rs 28,000 from his father Dnyaneshwar Wankhede’s house. Rs 1,800 was also recovered from Sameer the residence of Wankhede’s father-in-law.With inputs from agenciesRead all the Latest News, Trending News, Cricket News, Bollywood News, India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.