Sameer Wankhede (Former zonal director of NCB, Mumbai) on Friday filed a petition before the Bombay High Court, requesting the quashing of the CBI FIR against him.
The FIR accuses Wankhede of demanding a bribe of Rs. 25 crore from Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan for not implicating his son Aryan Khan in the Cordelia cruise drug bust case.
Also, Wankhede’s plea seeks protection from coercive action related to the CBI’s FIR.
Therefore, his petition was also presented before a vacation bench of the high court. The court is scheduled to hear the petition later on Friday. The CBI recently registered the FIR against Wankhede and 4 others in the same case.
Sameer Wankhede has also alleged that NCB deputy director Gyaneshwar Singh humiliated him over his caste during an inquiry. Wankhede said that Singh used the CBI against him to help Aryan Khan getting aside in connection with the cruise drug bust case.
Furthermore, the CBI invoked charges of criminal conspiracy, extortion, and bribery under the Prevention of Corruption Act against Wankhede and others based on a report filed by the NCB.
According to the investigation agency, the NCB’s Mumbai Zone received information about the possession & consumption of narcotics by various individuals aboard the private cruise ship in October 2021. Further, it alleged that several NCB officers conspired to obtain bribes from the accused individuals as an undue advantage.
The Delhi High Court granted Wankhede protection from coercive action for 5 days, allowing him the freedom to approach the appropriate forum.
Although the CBI summoned Wankhede for questioning in Mumbai on Thursday regarding the case, where he did not appear before the agency’s team.
