Sameer Wankhede Gets CBI Summons In Aryan Khan Case

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Wednesday summoned former Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) officer Sameer Wankhade for questioning in the alleged bribery probe in the Aryan Khan drugs-on-cruise case.

The summons came amid allegations of Rs 25 crore bribe from Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan's family by threatening to implicate Aryan Khan in the Mumbai cruise drug bust case.

The CBI recently filed a First Information Report (FIR) against Wankhede for allegedly seeking Rs 25 crore bribe for not framing Shah Rukh Khan's son Aryan Khan in the drugs-on-cruise case.

In its FIR, the CBI claimed that the NCB team headed by Sameer Wankhede allowed people who were actually in possession of drugs and the supplier as well to go.

'Arbaaz Merchant had confessed of possession Charas to NCB but he was allowed to go,' it said.

CBI claimed that Gosavi, an independent witness was allowed to handle the accused violating the rules.

Wankhede shot to fame in 2021 when he arrested Aryan, among others, in an alleged drugs procurement and consumption case following a raid led by him on a cruise ship in Mumbai on 2 October that year.

During the raid, the NCB had seized 13 grams of cocaine, five grams of mephedrone, 21 grams of marijuana, 22 pills of MDMA (ecstasy), and Rs 1.33 lakh in cash from the cruise vessel.

Charges against Aryan Khan, who spent four weeks in jail, were dropped by the anti-drugs agency in May 2022 due to lack of sufficient evidence.

The central probe 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 NCB.