The vigilance report of the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) has made several revelations about the Indian Revenue Service officer Sameer Wankhede who served as the Mumbai zone chief of the NCB, and was part of the team that arrested Shah Rukh Khan’s son Aryan Khan in an alleged drug party case.
The agency said that he and a few others had threatened to incriminate Aryan Khan in the alleged Cordelia cruise narcotics case unless a bribe of Rs 25 crore is paid by Shah Rukh Khan’s family. According to the report, some names were withdrawn while Aryan Khan and his companion Arbaaz Merchant were added at the last minute.
The investigation revealed that his average yearly income, as reported in the Income Tax Department, was about Rs 15.75 lakh (salary and rent), his wife Kranti Redkar who is an actress was approximately Rs 7 lakh (business), and his father Dnyandev Kachruji Wankhede’s was around Rs 3.45 lakh (pension and rent).
He and his family travelled abroad six times privately between 2017 and 2021, visiting the UK, Ireland, Portugal, South Africa, and the Maldives for a total of over 55 days. However, they only declared Rs 8.75 lakh, which is hardly enough to cover their air travel expenses.
In all of the visits, the amount he reported for travel, housing, food, VISA, and other expenditures ranges from Rs 1 lakh to Rs 2.5 lakh, which was an inaccurate declaration and underreporting.
His dubious dealings were exposed during his vacation to the Maldives in July 2021. The vigilance document further noted that a cash payment of Rs 9,03,055 made by Viral Jamaluddin, a friend of his, for a hotel reservation, which raised concerns regarding undisclosed money laundering.
He bought a Rolex Gold watch from Viral Jamaluddin for Rs 17,40,000 on credit, which is worth Rs 22,05,000. There are several invoices and quotations for Rolex watches. “My wife, who has only purchased one watch in her entire life, gifted me that watch, for which she paid money in instalments,” the ex-NCB director responded to the arraignment.
The report also referenced a suspicious transaction for four watches that he sold to Viral Jamaluddin for Rs 7,40,000 through cheque.
The SET discovered that he owned 41,688 acres of property in Washim and four apartments in Mumbai. He mentioned that he paid Rs 82,87,399 for a fifth apartment in Goregaon with a market worth of Rs 2,45,49,918.
Apart from the report, several people have come up with allegations against Sameer Wankhede. British citizen Karan Sajnani who was arrested by Sameer Wankhede in the 2021 drug seizure case charged that the official’s close aide and intelligence officer Ashish Ranjan stole his Rolex Daytona watch worth Rs 30 lakh while he was in custody. “The IO of the case took away my Daytona Rolex watch worth Rs 30 lacs and this wasn’t shown in the seized items list. The IO of the case was Ashish Ranjan.”
Model Munmun Dhamecha, who was apprehended along with Aryan Khan, has also levelled strong accusations against Sameer Wankhede. She declared that he framed her due to her profession as a model, with the intention of attracting media attention. She claimed that the officer used to target models and
“Now that the CBI has filed a case against him, I have hope that the truth will be revealed. He has falsely implicated many individuals like myself solely for garnering media publicity. Wankhede consistently targeted models and celebrities, well aware that the media would provide extensive coverage,” she remarked in an interview.
She said that she arrived at the cruise and a room was allocated to her. When NCB officials raided the cruise, the drugs were discovered in the room and were not found in her personal possession. Furthermore, she also gave the names of two other individuals Saumya Singh and Baldev who were also present in the room along with her and drugs were found in Saumya Singh’s possession, however, she was released.
“Initially, Wankhede assured me that there was nothing to worry about, as nothing incriminating was found on me, and they would complete the necessary formalities before allowing me to leave. However, as soon as he discovered that I am a model, he proceeded to arrest me. Later, I was presented in court, and they didn’t even allow me to speak with my family,” she added.
Meanwhile, Sameer Wankhede on Friday filed a plea with the Bombay High Court asking for the revocation of a first information report (FIR) that the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) had filed against him for allegedly soliciting payment of 25 crores from actor Shah Rukh Khan in exchange for not implicating his son Aryan Khan in the Cordelia cruise drug raid case.
He further requested that no coercive action be connected to the CBI’s FIR against him be taken in the petition that was brought before a vacation bench of the high court.
Sameer Wankhede had previously filed a petition with the Delhi High Court, asking for relief, asserting that he had provided factual responses to all of the court’s inquiries. He contended that he has been set up and is attempting to file a cross FIR against his superior officer, Gyaneshwar Singh.
Along with this, he also provided records of his WhatsApp conversations with top officials, in which he kept them updated on each step of the raid on the Cordelia ship and Aryan Khan’s subsequent imprisonment.
He argued that Gyaneshwar Singh, the NCB’s former deputy director, harassed and degraded him during an investigation because he is a member of an underprivileged community.
He told that he had protested to the Mumbai Police, the National Commission for Scheduled Castes, and the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) about the treatment that had been extended to him during the inquiry.
“The FIR was registered against me only because I had lodged a complaint against Singh with the National Commission for Scheduled Castes. I had filed a complaint with the SC Commission in Delhi, seeking an FIR against Singh for using abusive language against me as I was from a backward community,” he voiced.
On Wednesday, the Delhi High Court gave him protection from coercive action for five days with the freedom to file a case in the proper court, which would be the Bombay High Court.
He was called by the CBI on Thursday to be questioned in Mumbai over the matter, but he failed to show up.
Aryan Khan was arrested by the NCB on October 3, 2021, after a raid on the Cordelia cruise ship. After three weeks, the Bombay High Court granted him bail since the anti-drug organisation was unable to support its allegations against him.
In October 2021, the NCB, Mumbai Zone, received information about various people using and possessing narcotics on a private cruise ship. The investigation agency proclaimed that some of the NCB’s officers conspired and received improper benefits in the form of bribes from the supposed culprits.
On the basis of a complaint from the NCB, the CBI lodged proceedings against Sameer Wankhede and others for suspected criminal conspiracy, extortion threats, and provisions related to bribery under the Prevention of Corruption Act.
