No coercive action against ex-NCB officer Sameer Wankhede, accused of demanding Rs 25 crore from Shah Rukh Khan, till May 22: Bombay HC to CBI

PTI

Mumbai, May 19

The Bombay High Court on Friday directed the CBI not to take any “coercive action” such as arrest till May 22 against former NCB zonal director Sameer Wankhede, accused of demanding Rs 25 crore bribe from superstar Shah Rukh Khan for not implicating his son Aryan Khan in the Cordelia cruise ‘drug bust’ case.

Wankhede, an Indian Revenue Service official who was posted with the Narcotics Control Bureau here in 2021, has moved the court with a petition seeking to quash the First Information Report (FIR) registered by the Central Bureau of Investigation against him for alleged extortion and bribery.

A vacation bench of the court passed the order after recording Wankhede’s undertaking that he will remain present at the CBI’s office in Bandra Kurla Complex here at 11 am on Saturday.

The CBI shall not take any “coercive action” against Wankhede till May 22, the HC said.

The Central agency registered the FIR against Wankhede and four others recently for alleged criminal conspiracy and threat of extortion besides offences related to bribery under the Prevention of Corruption Act on the NCB’s complaint.

Aryan Khan was arrested by the NCB on October 3, 2021, following alleged drug seizure on board the Cordelia cruise ship here.

He was granted bail by the high court after three weeks as the anti-drugs agency failed to substantiate its charges against him.

The CBI alleged that the NCB Mumbai Zone had received information in October 2021 regarding the consumption and possession of narcotic substances by various individuals on the cruise ship, and some NCB officers conspired to get bribes from the accused in return for letting them off.

The CBI had summoned Wankhede for questioning in Mumbai on Thursday, but he did not appear. PTI

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#Central Bureau of Investigation CBI #shah rukh khan