CBI Books Aryan Khan Case Officer Sameer Wankhede In Corruption Case

CBI has booked IRS officer Wankhede for allegedly seeking Rs 25 crore bribe for not framing Aryan Khan in drug bust case.

Aryan Khan. (File Photo)

Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Friday filed corruption charges against former Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) Mumbai zonal director, Sameer Wankhede for allegedly seeking Rs 25 crore bribe for not framing actor Shah Rukh Khan’s son, Aryan Khan, in a drug raid case, news agency PTI reported.

The primary investigative body is currently carrying out searches at the premises belonging to Wankhede.

CBI has booked IRS officer Wankhede for allegedly seeking Rs 25 crore bribe for not framing Aryan Khan in drug bust case: Officials

— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) May 12, 2023

The NCB exonerated Aryan Khan in the drug-related case involving a cruise, despite having submitted a charge-sheet; however, an SIT convened by the anti-drugs organization found flaws in the investigation overseen by Wankhede.

Wankhede was the Mumbai zonal chief of the Narcotics Control Bureau, or NCB, when he and others raided the cruise ship off the city's coast in 2021.

Aryan Khan and several others were apprehended in October 2021 following a search of the Cordelia cruise ship at the Mumbai International Cruise Terminal carried out by a squad led by the then-Mumbai zonal head of the NCB, Sameer Wankhede.

At the start of the case, the allegations of possessing, using, and selling drugs were pressed against Aryan Khan.

In May 2022, the anti-drugs agency found insufficient evidence against Aryan Khan, who had been imprisoned for four weeks, leading to the dismissal of all charges against him.

Due to accusations of misconduct against the NCB team and Wankhede, an independent investigation into their actions was carried out. Afterwards, Wankhede was relocated to Chennai's DG Taxpayer Service Directorate.

Earlier, officials revealed that the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) has discharged its superintendent, Vishwa Vijay Singh. Singh was involved in the raid of Cordelia Cruise and the subsequent arrest of Aryan Khan, son of actor Shah Rukh Khan, in 2021. The investigation found that Singh had engaged in misconduct in an earlier case, leading to his suspension and ultimate dismissal from the NCB, PTI reported.

"Vishwa Vijay Singh was removed from NCB's service in another case in which he was suspended last year and an inquiry was going on against him," the official was quoted by PTI in its report.