Probe team questions Sameer Wankhede in extortion claims

The vigilance team started recording Wankhede’s statement with NCB deputy director general Gyaneshwar Singh,who is heading the five-member team

The Narcotics Bureau’s (NCB) vigilance team started questioning on Wednesday the agency’s Mumbai zonal chief Sameer Wankhede over allegations that he was part of a ₹25-crore extortion racket targeting Shah Rukh Khan’s son Aryan Khan, who was arrested in a drug raid three weeks ago.

NCB Mumbai zonal director Sameer Wankhede arrives at the NCB office, in New Delhi on Tuesday. (HT Photo.)

The vigilance team started recording Wankhede’s statement with NCB deputy director general Gyaneshwar Singh,who is heading the five-member team, saying all material witnesses in the probe will be called. The internal investigation could turn the high-profile case on its head. “The five-member vigilance team arrived today (Wednesday) in Mumbai…The team has recorded the statement of zonal director Sameer Wankhede and collected crucial documents related to the case. Wankhede’s statement was recorded in four hours. If we require any other documents in the case, we will call Wankhede again,” Singh told reporters at the NCB’s office in Mumbai.

Singh said Wankhede will remain the investigating officer in the drugs-on-cruise ship case until substantial information is found against him.

The team was set up on October 25 after an NCB witness, Prabhakar Sail, filed an affidavit saying he overheard his employer, KP Gosavi, talking on the phone to someone identified as Sam D’Souza after Aryan was brought to the NCB office. He said Gosavi talked about extorting ₹25 crore to settle the case and release Aryan, which could be negotiated to ₹18 crore, with ₹8 crore going to Wankhede.

“We have started the probe into allegations made by witness Prabhakar Sail in his affidavit, which was circulated on social media. I have requested south western region officials to get the notice served to the key witnesses, especially Prabhakar Sail and KP Gosavi,” Singh said.

“We have tried our best to contact them but could not. Through the media, I would like to tell them to feel free and in two days give evidence to special inquiry team, which has been staying at CRPF mess at Bandra (West),” Singh added.

Gosavi had already made the news by being present during the raid, and seemingly assisting NCB officials, despite not being part of any law enforcement agency. Wankhede and the NCB denied the charges.

On October 2, Wankhede led a raid on the cruise ship Cordelia, docked at Mumbai’s International Cruise Terminal, to bust a rave party. The next day, the agency arrested Aryan Khan, son of actor Shah Rukh Khan, and charged the 23-year-old under the Narcotics Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act. Wankhede said 13 grams of cocaine, 5 grams of mephedrone, 21 grams of Charas, 22 pills of MDMA (ecstasy), and ₹1.33 lakh in cash were recovered from the ship.

Since then, 20 people have been arrested under various sections of the NDPS Act.