Mumbai: The CBI has filed a corruption case against Sameer Wankhede, the officer who arrested Aryan Khan in the alleged drugs-on-cruise case two years ago. He was later cleared of charges due to "lack of sufficient evidence".
Wankhede and other anti-narcotics officers allegedly demanded Rs 25 crore bribe for not framing Aryan Khan in the alleged drug bust. He was the Mumbai zonal chief of the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) when the cruise ship was raided off the coast in 2021. Shah Rukh Khan's son spent four weeks in jail before he was granted bail.
A special investigation team (SIT) had earlier claimed that the probe led by Wankhede had lapses. He was later transferred to the Directorate General of Taxpayer Services in Chennai.
Wankhede has been booked under Sections 7, 7A, and 12 of the Prevention of Corruption Act, and Sections 120 B (criminal conspiracy) and 388 (extortion by threat) of the IPC. The case has been registered against two other public servants too. Raids are underway at over 30 locations in Delhi, Mumbai, Ranchi, Lucknow, Guwahati, and Chennai in connection with the case. The vigilance inquiry found that Wankhede had amassed assets through corruption.