Sameer Wankhede sought Rs 25 cr to let off Aryan Khan in drugs-on-cruise case, booked by CBI

New Delhi, May 12

The CBI has registered an FIR against former Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) officer Sameer Wankhede and four others for allegedly demanding a bribe of Rs 25 crore for not framing Bollywood star Shah Rukh Khan’s son Aryan Khan in the drugs-on-cruise case, probe agency officials said today.

Drugs-on-cruise case

• Oct 3, 2021: Aryan Khan, son of SRK, arrested in ‘drug bust case’ on Cordelia cruise ship
• Nov 7, 2021: SIT set up by NCB claims probe led by Wankhede has several lapses
• May 27, 2022: NCB in Mumbai files chargesheet, giving clean chit to Aryan
• NCB alleges Wankhede & others demanded Rs 25 cr for ‘not framing’ Aryan Khan in the case
• CBI learns Rs 50 lakh allegedly collected as advance by Wankhede and his accomplices

Following the registration of the case, CBI sleuths conducted searches at 29 locations linked to the accused persons across Mumbai, Delhi, Ranchi, Lucknow, Chennai and Guwahati, the officials said, adding that the exercise led to the recovery of incriminating documents, articles and cash.

Besides Wankhede, the agency has named then NCB Superintendent Vishwa Vijay Singh, then Intelligence Officer of Mumbai Zonal Unit Ashish Ranjan and private individuals KP Gosavi and Sanvile D’Souza.

A CBI spokesperson said the case was registered on a complaint by the NCB.

Aryan Khan was arrested in an alleged drug bust case on the Cordelia cruise ship on October 2, 2021. The NCB, which had filed a chargesheet in the drugs-on-cruise case, gave a clean chit to Aryan Khan, while an SIT set up by the anti-drugs agency claimed the probe led by Wankhede had lapses. In the complaint, which is part of the FIR, it has been alleged that IRS officer Wankhede and others had allegedly demanded a bribe of Rs 25 crore for not framing Aryan Khan in the alleged drug bust.