PremiumShah Rukh Khan, Aryan’s statements maybe recorded in Sameer Wankhede case
The former Zonal Director of NCB has been granted interim protection from arrest until June 23
Last Updated: 03.25 PM, Jun 21, 2023
According to latest reports, statements of Bollywood star Shah Rukh Khan and his son Aryan Khan are likely to be recorded by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), in connection with ongoing probe into an alleged extortion attempt by Sameer Wankhede - the former Zonal Director of the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB).
“We will soon record the statements of Aryan Khan, who was arrested by NCB, and Shah Rukh Khan, from whom ₹25 crore was demanded, by the accused Kiran Gosavi and Sanville D’Souza at the behest of Wankhede. Recording their statements is necessary to get to the bottom of the conspiracy,” agency officials told Hindustan Times.
Although Sameer was “partially examined” by the agency last month, the court’s approval is awaited to formally carry out an intensive interrogation session with him. Meanwhile, the Bombay High Court has granted Sameer interim protection from arrest until June 23.
All this started in October last year, following a raid on a cruise ship off Mumbai, where Aryan was arrested, although no drugs were found on him. He was granted bail after 25 days. Later, a CBI review stated that Aryan was “deliberately targeted”.
On May 11, the agency filed a first information report (FIR) against Sameer, along with former Superintendent of Police (NCB) Vishwa Vijay Singh, Intelligence Officer Ashish Ranjan, Kiran and Sanville.
Relying on a vigilance enquiry report by a special enquiry team (SET) led by NCB’s Deputy Director General (DDG) Gyaneshwar Singh, the FIR alleged that a conspiracy was underway to extort ₹25 crore from the actor’s family. It also surfaced that the amount was later reduced to ₹18 crore. Kiran took a token amount of ₹50 lakh, but a part of it was later returned.
According to the officer quoted above, Sanville was recently called for questioning, while several other people - including members of the Cordelia Cruise raiding team - have also been interrogated over the past few weeks.