Sameer Wankhede moves Bombay HC against CBI; seeks quashing of FIR in bribery case

Sameer Wankhede, Former Zonal Director of the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) has approached the Bombay High Court in an extortion case registered against him by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).

This comes in connection with the Cordelia cruise drug seizure case pertaining to Aryan Khan, son of actor Shah Rukh Khan. Wankhede has been accused of seeking a Rs 25 crore bribe for not framing Aryan Khan in the drug bust case, PTI reported. 

In his plea, Wankhede has stated that the allegations levelled against him are unfounded and deceptive as he claimed CBI's actions were an act of revenge. The urgent hearing will take place today (May 19) at 2:30 pm. 

Ex-NCB officer Sameer Wankhede skips CBI summons

The former NCB officer on May 18 ignored the CBI summons and did not appear for questioning before the agency in relation to the case. The central agency has accused him and three others of taking bribes. Apart from Wankhede's residence, the agency raided 29 locations across the country including Mumbai, Delhi, Ranchi and Kanpur. He has been booked under IPC Sections 7, 7A, and 12 of the Prevention of Corruption Act, Sections 120 B (criminal conspiracy) and 388 (extortion by threat).

Wankhede led the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) when the agency raided the Cordelia cruise at the Mumbai International Cruise Terminal on October 3, 2021. Several people, including Shah Rukh Khan's son Aryan Khan, were arrested after the raid. 

The actor's son, however, was granted bail by the Bombay High Court on October 28. He then received a clean chit in May last year due to lack of evidence. Aryan Khan was arrested under the charges of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act after psychedelic drugs were seized from the cruise. 

The officials said that the CBI received information that the officer and his accomplice allegedly collected Rs 50 lakh in advance. Wankhede, who headed the NCB in Mumbai at the time of Aryan Khan's arrest, was transferred to the Directorate General of Taxpayer Services in Chennai in May 2022.