Witness in Aryan Khan's case alleges pay-off to senior officer Sameer Wankhede

The drugs case is taking several twists as one of the witnesses Prabhakar Sail levelled allegations against the agency's senior officer Sameer Wankhede and KP Gosavi. However, Wankhede denied the charges.

Mumbai: In a shocking revelation, a witness of the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) in the case against Shah Rukh Khan's son Aryan Khan, has made claims about collusion and pay-offs against the agency's senior officer Sameer Wankhede and KP Gosavi. However, Wankhede has denied any wrongdoing and asserted that he would give a befitting reply.

The witness, Prabhakar Sail, levelled serious allegations against Kiran Gosavi. He said that there was a demand of Rs 25 crore through a mediator to release Aryan Khan. Prabhakar Sail also accused Sameer Wankhede that he had made him sign on a blank paper.

He further said that there is a threat to his life from NCB chief Sameer Wankhede after KP Gosavi went missing, as per reports. Gosavi is the man who hit headlines after his selfie with Aryan Khan went viral on October 2. He was last seen on the Goa-bound cruise ship when the NCB arrested Aryan Khan along with seven others related to this drug case. A lookout notice was issued by police for Gosavi.

A case was registered against Gosavi in Pune on May 29, 2018, at Faraskhana police station for swindling Rs 3 lakh from a Pune youth in May 2018 on the promise of getting him a job in Malaysia. Later, he was declared absconding. He was booked under sections 419, 420 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) along with relevant sections of the Information Technology (IT) Act.

Bollywood star Shah Rukh Khan's son Aryan Khan was arrested on Oct. 3, 2021 along with seven others in a raid on a Goa-bound cruise ship in Mumbai. NCB said that it had recovered drugs from them. So far, 20 people have been arrested in the case.

Aryan Khan and others were booked in the case for alleged conspiracy, possession, consumption, purchase and trafficking of drugs under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act.

Repeated efforts to get the bail for Aryan Khan were turned down by the court. The special court has extended the judicial custody of Aryan Khan and others till 30th October. The special court, while refusing bail, had observed that Aryan Khan was involved in "illicit drug activities on a regular basis" and had a nexus with drug peddlers and suppliers.

The lower court had also rejected the bail pleas of Aryan Khan's friend Arbaaz Merchant and fashion model Munmun Dhamecha. Aryan Khan moved the HC on Oct. 20 evening after a special NDPS court here rejected his bail plea in the afternoon. The Bombay High Court said Thursday it would hear the bail plea on Oct. 26.

The drug case has become a political slugfest among the political parties in Maharashtra. Maharashtra minister and NCP leader Nawab Malik claimed the case related to the alleged recovery of banned drugs from the ship was "fake" and arrests were made just on the basis of WhatsApp chats.

NCP president Sharad Pawar had also lashed out at the Centre, accusing it of using the NCB, the Enforcement Directorate, the CBI, and the Income Tax Department to target the opposition parties.

Meanwhile, NCB in its statement later in the day denied the allegations of Prabhakar Sail. Mutha Ashok Jain, DDG South Western Region of NCB stated that affidavit by Prabhakar Sail, the witness in a crime case of NCB has come to my notice. As he is a witness & the case is sub-judice, he needs to submit his prayer to the Court rather than social media. Our Zonal Director, Sameer Wankhede has denied the allegations, Jain has stated.

Read: Sanjay Raut seeks action against NCB, for forcing 'witness' to sign on blank paper