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CBI FIR reveals Sameer Wankhede’s ‘plot’ to extort Rs 25 crore bribe from Shah Rukh Khan | India News
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NEW DELHI: Former Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) zonal head Sameer Wankhede had threatened to frame Aryan 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) has alleged in its FIR.
The FIR said that Wankhede and some other officials of the agency even received a token amount of Rs 50 lakh as bribe but some money was returned later due to the case getting stuck.
‘Wankhede plotted Aryan’s arrest’
The details of FIR, made public on Monday, revealed that independent witness K P Gosavi and one Prabhakar Sail, now deceased, were included by the NCB in the Cordelia cruise ship drug raid on October 2, 2021 on the directions of Wankhede.
It said that Gosavi, along with his aide, was responsible for Aryan Khan’s arrest and had entered into the conspiracy to “extort an amount” of Rs 25 crore from the family members of Aryan by “threatening them of the accusation of offences of possession of Narcotics substances”.
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.
NCB’s Special Enquiry Team (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 October 2, 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 said.
Violating all norms of independent witness, Gosavi was allowed to be present in the company of the accused 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, the officials said.
‘Wankhede concealed information about foreign visits’
According to the FIR, Wankhede also concealed information regarding his foreign trips and purchase of expensive watches.
The SET red-flagged alleged improper explanations and apparent misdeclaration of “the expenditure” given by then NCB Zonal Director Wankhede on his foreign visits.
These findings were referred by the Centre to the CBI which had registered an FIR against the officer and four others on May 11.
“He has also not declared the source of his foreign visits properly. It was also found that Wankhede has indulged himself in sale and purchase of expensive wrist watches with a private entity, Viral Rajan, without intimating the department (present or parent),” the SET said in the findings which are now part of the FIR.
Aryan Khan was arrested in the alleged drug bust case on the Cordelia cruise ship on October 2, 2021, they said.
Wankhede and others were booked 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).
(With inputs from agencies)
The FIR said that Wankhede and some other officials of the agency even received a token amount of Rs 50 lakh as bribe but some money was returned later due to the case getting stuck.
‘Wankhede plotted Aryan’s arrest’
The details of FIR, made public on Monday, revealed that independent witness K P Gosavi and one Prabhakar Sail, now deceased, were included by the NCB in the Cordelia cruise ship drug raid on October 2, 2021 on the directions of Wankhede.
It said that Gosavi, along with his aide, was responsible for Aryan Khan’s arrest and had entered into the conspiracy to “extort an amount” of Rs 25 crore from the family members of Aryan by “threatening them of the accusation of offences of possession of Narcotics substances”.
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.
NCB’s Special Enquiry Team (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 October 2, 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 said.
Violating all norms of independent witness, Gosavi was allowed to be present in the company of the accused 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, the officials said.
‘Wankhede concealed information about foreign visits’
According to the FIR, Wankhede also concealed information regarding his foreign trips and purchase of expensive watches.
The SET red-flagged alleged improper explanations and apparent misdeclaration of “the expenditure” given by then NCB Zonal Director Wankhede on his foreign visits.
These findings were referred by the Centre to the CBI which had registered an FIR against the officer and four others on May 11.
“He has also not declared the source of his foreign visits properly. It was also found that Wankhede has indulged himself in sale and purchase of expensive wrist watches with a private entity, Viral Rajan, without intimating the department (present or parent),” the SET said in the findings which are now part of the FIR.
Aryan Khan was arrested in the alleged drug bust case on the Cordelia cruise ship on October 2, 2021, they said.
Wankhede and others were booked 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).
(With inputs from agencies)
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