NCB officer & IO Of Cordelia Cruise Case Moves Delhi HC Against CBI Action

Ashish Ranjan, the Investigating Officer (IO) in the Cordelia Cruise case, and former Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) Mumbai zonal director Sameer Wankhede have approached before the Delhi High Court seeking protection.

Ranjan has filed a writ petition, urging that the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) not take any coercive action against him.

They both have been accused of attempting to extort Rs 25 crore from actor Shah Rukh Khan in exchange for securing Aryan Khan’s release in the high-profile drugs-on-cruise case.

In requesting similar protection for himself, Ashish Ranjan cited the protection given to Sameer Wankhede by the Bombay High Court till June 8 in the same matter.

He also raised the same allegations against Gyaneshwar Singh, the Deputy Director General of the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB), as Wankhede did. The CBI filed a case against Wankhede and Ranjan based on Singh’s vigilance report.

In October 2021, Wankhede had arrested Actor Shah Rukh Khan’s son Aryan Khan in a drugs case. However, the NCB later gave a clean chit to Aryan Khan, and the firm’s Deputy General SN Pradhan accepted discrepancies in Sameer Wankhede’s probe.