CBI raids reward for patriotism: Aryan Khan extortion-accused Sameer Wankhede
Former Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) officer Sameer Wankhede, accused of demanding a bribe of Rs. 25 crore in the drugs-on-cruise case involving Shah Rukh Khan's son Aryan Khan, has alleged he was being persecuted because of his "patriotism." Wankhede's claims came after the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) raided his home and other premises on Friday, reportedly in the presence of his family.
Why does this story matter?
The CBI filed a corruption case against Wankhede on Friday and raided nearly 30 locations. Wankhede arrested Aryan in the alleged Cordelia Cruise drug bust case in October 2021. Wankhede—who was then the NCB Mumbai zone head—was dismissed last year following an investigation by the Special Team of Investigation (SIT), which discovered inconsistencies in the raid and gave a clean chit to Aryan.
CBI raided house in presence of wife, children: Wankhede
Reacting to the corruption case and subsequent CBI raids, Wankhede said, "I am getting rewarded for being a patriot...18 CBI officials raided my residence and searched it for more than 12 hours while my wife and children were present in the house," reported ANI. "They found Rs. 23,000 and four property papers. These assets were acquired before I joined the service," he claimed.
What more did Wankhede claim?
Wankhede stated in the emotional statement that the investigation agency took his wife's cell phone. Furthermore, he alleged that the CBI recovered cash of Rs. 28,000 from his sister's home, another Rs. 28,000 from his father's residence, and Rs. 1,800 from his father-in-law's house.
CBI raided 30 locations as part of corruption investigation
Wankhede and three others were charged with corruption in connection with the Aryan drugs-on-cruise incident, according to the CBI, which filed the case on Friday. The agency also raided around 30 locations in Mumbai, Delhi, Jharkhand, and Uttar Pradesh, as part of its probe. Notably, Wankhede earlier raided a Cordelia Cruises ship and arrested Aryan in connection with an alleged narcotics case.
Why Aryan got clean chit
As per Mint, Wankhede, reportedly shunted out of the NCB last year, allegedly sought a bribe of Rs. 25 crore from the owners of Cordelia Cruise ship and not from SRK, as several other reports claimed. Notably, Aryan spent four weeks in jail in 2021 and was cleared of all charges by the NCB in May 2022 due to a "lack of sufficient evidence."
