New Delhi: A witness has levelled sensational allegations of collusion and extortion hands against Sameer Wankhede, the senior Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) officer, and K.P. Gosavi, a private investigator, in the Aryan Khan drugs case, NDTV reported. Gosavi is the investigator whose selfie with Khan went viral soon after the latter’s arrest.
Wankhede, the zonal director of the NCB, denied the allegations and said, “We will give a fitting reply.”
The witness, one Prabhakar Sail, who claims to be Gosavi’s bodyguard, was a panch witness in the cruise drugs case. He now claims that he was asked by Wankhede to sign as a panch witness and his signature was taken on 10 blank papers.
He filed an affidavit in which he detailed that he heard Gosavi talk to one Sam D’Souza about a Rs 18 crore deal, of which Rs 8 crore “was meant to be paid to Wankhede”. Moreover, he claimed to have been given the cash by Gosavi, which he allegedly handed over to D’Souza.
Sail also said that Gosavi has currently gone missing, alleging that the NCB has “abducted” him. Because of this, Sail said he fears for his life and that this is his reason for filing the affidavit.
“NCB officials may kill me or abduct me like Gosavi… As seen in the big cases, witnesses often are killed or taken away and I therefore want to state the truth,” the affidavit says, according to LiveLaw.
In his affidavit, Sail details events of the October 2 raid as well as several details surrounding it.
On October 2, Sail claims to have been present at the boarding area of the cruise ship where he says that he was asked to identify people boarding the ship. He claims that he was sent a series of images on WhatsApp to help to this end.
Thereafter, Sail’s affidavit claims that he was summoned by Gosavi at around 10:30 pm and saw Aryan Khan, Munmun Dhamecha and others with NCB officials. After the accused were taken away by the officers, Sail claims that Gosavi and Wankhede had him sign some blank papers.
The next day, Sail alleges that he went to the NCB office where Gosavi was meeting with an NCB officer, the Hindustan Times reported. Thereafter, Gosavi exited the office and met with D’Souza around 500 metres away, following which Gosavi rejoined Sail.
It was then that Sail alleges the phone call with D’Souza took place in which Gosavi refers to a “[Rs] 25 crore bomb” as well as the suggestion to “settle for [Rs] 18 crore” because they need to “give [Rs] 6 crore to Sameer Wankhede”.
Sail then alleges that Gosavi and D’Souza met with Pooja Dadlani, Shah Rukh Khan’s manager, in a car for 15 minutes.
The affidavit then notes that Sail was asked to pick up Rs 50 lakh cash and deliver that to D’Souza near the Trident hotel. However, it goes on to note that, when D’Souza counted the money, only Rs 38 lakh was present.
According to the NDTV report, sources within the NCB have categorically denied the claim, saying that CCTV cameras within the NCB office would show that “nothing of the sort happened”.
The NCB’s Mumbai deputy director general Mutha Ashok Jain has forwarded the affidavit of Sail to the NCB director general for “further necessary action”. He also reiterated that Wankhede has ‘categorically’ denied the allegations.
Also read: Bombay HC Refuses Video Hearing, Sets Oct 26 Date for Aryan Khan’s Bail Hearing
Khan was denied bail by a Mumbai court on October 21 and continues to be lodged in Arthur Road Jail. The bail application will now be heard by the Bombay high court on October 26.
So far, 20 people have been arrested in the case.