Mumbai: Former Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) officer Sameer Wankhede, who is under the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) scanner for allegedly demanding Rs 25 crore as a bribe for not framing Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan’s son Aryan Khan in the drugs-on-cruise case, owns huge property disproportionate to his known sources of income.
Wankhede has been named in a First Information Report (FIR) filed by the CBI along with four others in connection with the cruise drug bust case. Wankhede allegedly owns five properties, including a residential flat in plush Bandra, and two commercial properties worth crores, including a bar. Wankhede made six private foreign trips with family between 2017 and 2021 to countries including the UK, Ireland, Portugal, South Africa and the Maldives.
Wenesday Rate
Wed 25 Dec. 2024
The former NCB Zonal Director Sameer Wankhede on Friday moved a petition before the Bombay High Court seeking the quashing of an FIR filed against him by the CBI for allegedly demanding Rs 25 crore bribe from Shah Rukh Khan for not implicating his son Aryan Khan in the Cordelia cruise drug bust case.
The plea was moved a day after he failed to appear for questioning before the CBI on Thursday in connection with the case. Wankhede has been named in the FIR filed by the CBI along with four others in connection with the cruise drug bust case.
It is alleged that Wankhede and others demanded the bribe to not implicate his son Aryan Khan in the 2021 Cordelia cruise ship drug bust case.
Wankhede was hailed a hero by many for arresting Aryan Khan, but his conduct and murky dealings soon surfaced. This included allegations of forged caste certificates and an illegal bar license. NCP leader Nawab Malik had alleged that Wankhede forged his caste certificate and other documents to secure a job as an IRS officer under the SC quota.
In August 2022, the Maharashtra Government’s District Caste Certificate Verification Committee (DCCVC) gave a clean chit to Wankhede, declaring that he belongs to the Mahar community, which comes under Scheduled Caste.
Assets under scanner
Along with the bribe allegations, the CBI is also looking into assets owned by Wankhede which are said to be much higher than his source of income. Wankhede allegedly owns five properties, including a residential flat in plush Bandra, and two commercial properties worth crores, including a bar.
The IRS officer’s foreign visits have also come under probe. Wankhede made six private foreign trips with family between 2017 and 2021 to countries including the UK, Ireland, Portugal, South Africa and the Maldives. But he has claimed that he spent only Rs 8.75 lakh, which barely covers the cost of air travel.
Following the Aryan Khan arrest episode, which became a major embarrassment for the NCB, a Special Enquiry Team (SET) had red-flagged alleged improper explanations and apparent misdeclaration of “the expenditure” given by then NCB Zonal Director Wankhede on his foreign visits. The Centre referred these findings 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 wristwatches 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.
