Former NCB officer Sameer Wankhede recently cited his alleged chats with Actor Shah Rukh Khan after Aryan Khan’s arrest in the Cordelia Cruise Ship Case to refute the extortion accusation against him in the CBI’s FIR.
Wankhede in his plea said, “Shahrukh Khan has clearly stated in his messages that he has no grievances against the Wankhede and has only asked to be ‘kind to his son.’ Khan has not only praised the Wankhede’s integrity, but has also expressed his anguish over the political involvement in the matter.
Wankhede argued in his plea that if he had genuinely made monetary demands to release Aryan Khan, Khan’s tone would have been radically different.
Wankhede’s petition cited chats that took place between October 3, 2021, the day Aryan was detained till October 15, 2022. On October 29, the Bombay High Court ordered Khan’s release on bail.
Wankhede claims in the appeal filed by Advocate Karan Jain that it was always Shah Rukh Khan who initiated the chats. He added that Shah Rukh was persuading him to help him with “reformation of his son” to secure a better life and future for his son.
“Needless to say, a suggestion of reformation was suggestive of Aryan Khan engaging in some act of omission or commission under the NDPS Act of which Mr. Shahrukh Khan was aware, which led him to persuade the Petitioner towards reformation of his son,” the plea stated.
Wankhede argued that these conversations refute the allegations made by NCB Headquarters in New Delhi in the letter to the CBI.
Wankhede is shown addressing Shah Rukh in the same alleged chat that unscrupulous elements were tainting the atmosphere despite his desire for the kids to “reform” in the same claimed talk. According to the claimed text, Shah Rukh stated that his son was not a part of anything and asked with the officer to look at his child with empathy because “…his spirit will be destroyed because of some vested people.”
In his petition, Wankhede also referenced an affidavit from Aryan Khan in his bail application distancing himself from extortion claims.
Wankhede was granted relief from coercive action by a vacation bench of the Bombay High Court on Friday. The court noted that prima facie, the sanction to prosecute him was undermined by the caveat to Section 17A of the Prevention of Corruption Act.
Wankhede had moved plea before the High Court challenging the CBI’s FIR against him and five others. The agency accuses them of demanding Rs 25 crore in bribes from family members of those arrested in the 2021 Cordelia Cruise Ship Case, including Aryan Khan.
Wankhede is a reserved-category IRS officer from the 2008-batch. Wankhede, the former chief of the NCB Zonal Unit, had led raids where the Cordelia Cruise Ship was docked on October 2, 2021.
Last year, the SIT cleared Khan and five other people. Panch witness Prakhakar Sail, who detailed the alleged extortion in an affidavit, died in April of last year following a cardiac arrest.
In his plea, Wankhede claimed that he initiated the investigation into the Cordelia Case on the specific directions of his superiors at NCB, including Deputy Director General Gnaneshwar Singh.
The CBI FIR is based on Singh’s report as the head of the Special Investigation Team (SIT) in the Cordelia Cruise Ship Case.
However, Wankhede has stated that Singh leading the SIT was an unusual circumstance because he was investigating his own conduct.
“In his (Gnaneshwar Singh’s) mala fide resolves to cover up his own tracks, has been harassing Petitioner ever since & has not stopped even after Petitioner left (NCB),” the plea stated.
