Sameer Wankhede Case: KP Gosavi Planned to Extort Rs 25 Cr from Shah Rukh Khan

The FIR filed by the CBI against former Mumbai Zone NCB head Sameer Wankhede has made shocking allegations against him in relation to the Aryan Khan drug seizure case.

The CBI has claimed that 'independent witness' KP Gosavi had planned to extort Rs 25 crores from Aryan Khan's family. However, it was settled at Rs 8 crore and a token amount of Rs 50 lakh as a bribe was paid, but later some money was returned due to the case getting stuck, according to an IANS report.

The central agency has said that KP Goswami appeared like an NCB official during the raid on the cruise and was responsible for the arrest of Shah Rukh Khan's son, the FIR accessed by the IANS stated.

On Friday, the CBI conducted searches at 29 locations across the country in an alleged corruption case against Sameer Wankhede and four others - then NCB Superintendent Vishwa Vijay Singh, Intelligence Officer Ashish Ranjan and two private persons KP Gosavi and Sanvile D'Souza in the case.

The central agency booked Wankhede and others 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), according to a report in PTI.

The FIR claims that the former NCB chief concealed information regarding his foreign trips and buying expensive watches. During the raid, it seized his cell phone which has been sent to a forensic lab to retrieve data.

"Sameer Wankhede is accused of engaging in buying and selling expensive watches without disclosing this information. He also allegedly concealed details of his expenses during his foreign trips," the CBI source said quoting FIR.

Aryan Khan was arrested in the alleged drug bust case on the Cordelia cruise ship on October 2, 2021, on suspicion of cocaine possession. He was granted bail by the Bombay High Court, 25 days later.

The NCB, in its 6,000-page charge sheet against 14 accused, gave a clean chit to Aryan Khan. NCB officials said Shah Rukh's son and five others were not named in the agency's charge sheet due to "lack of sufficient evidence".

The case took a twist after an 'independent witness' had claimed in 2021 that Rs 25 crore was demanded by an NCB official and other persons, including a witness Gosavi, to let off Aryan Khan.

Later, Wankhede was transferred to the DG Taxpayer Service Directorate in Chennai in May, last year.