Highlights
- Sameer Wankhede was questioned today over bribery allegations against him
- The officer will stay in charge of the cruise ship raids case, NCB said
- The allegations were made against Mr Wankhede by a witness in the case
Narcotics Control Bureau's zonal officer Sameer Wankhede was questioned on Wednesday in connection with the bribery allegations against him, which is being investigated internally by the anti-drugs agency. The officer will stay in charge of the cruise ship raids case -- in which Shah Rukh Khan's son Aryan Khan has been arrested -- unless substantial information is found against him, senior NCB officer Gyaneshwar Singh was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.
Earlier this week, bribery allegations were made against Mr Wankhede by a man named as a witness in the case. The officer is also facing a series of allegations from Maharashtra minister Nawab Malik, which range from extortion to illegal phone tapping and cornering Scheduled Castes quota through forged documents.
Mr Wankhede has submitted the documents related to the case, and if need be, he will be questioned further, said senior NCB officer Gyaneshwar Singh, who landed in Mumbai yesterday morning at the head of a five-person team.
The Narcotics Control Bureau had asked its vigilance section to investigate the issue -- stung by allegations made by Prabhakar Sail, a bodyguard to KP Gosavi, the private investigator whose selfie with Aryan Khan went viral.
Prabhakar Sail has alleged that KP Gosavi had planned to demand crores from Shah Rukh Khan's manager Pooja Dadlani, a portion of which was earmarked for Mr Wankhede. KP Gosavi said they should ask for a "bomb 25 crore" and then settle at 18 crore, of which Rs 8 crore was for Sameer Wankhede, Prabhakar Sail had said in his affidavit.
Mr Wankhede had written to Mumbai Police commissioner Hemant Nagrale, seeking protection from possible legal action against him by unknown persons to "falsely frame him concerning an alleged vigilance-related issue".
He, however, failed to get relief from court when he filed an affidavit on the issue. A special court said it cannot pass a blanket order barring courts from taking cognisance of the document.
The NCB has backed the officer, saying in a statement on Monday that he has an "impeccable service record".