Sameer Wankhede Cites Alleged Chats With Shahrukh Khan To Counter CBI's Extortion Allegations In Cruise Ship Case, Says Khan Praised His Integrity

Former NCB officer Sameer Wankhede has cited before the Bombay High Court his alleged chats with actor Shah Rukh Khan after Aryan Khan’s arrest in the Cordelia Cruise Ship Case, to counter the allegation of extortion against him in CBI's FIR.

“Mr. Shahrukh Khan has, vide his messages, clearly portrayed that he has no grievances against the Petitioner (Wankhede) and has only requested to be ‘kind to his son’. Mr. Khan has not only praised the Petitioner's integrity but has also expressed his anguish over the political involvement in the matter,” Wankhede’s plea states regarding the alleged chats annexed to the petition.

He contends that Khan’s tone would’ve been completely different had Wankhede actually made monetary demands to release Aryan Khan.

Wankhede’s petition cites chats between October 3, 2021, the day Aryan was arrested till October 15, 2022. Khan was released on bail following orders of the Bombay High Court on October 29.

It was always Shah Rukh Khan, who initiated the chats, Wankhede states in the plea filed by Advocate Karan Jain. He adds that Shah Rukh was being persuasive in his conversation to assist him in ensuring "reformation of his son" to ensure a better life and future of his son.

“Needless to say, that a suggestion of reformation was suggestive of Aryan Khan having engaged into some act of omission or commission under the NDPS Act of which Mr. Shahrukh Khan was aware which led him to persuade the Petitioner towards reformation of his son,” the plea said.

These conversations in fact belie the allegations of NCB Headquarters, New Delhi as contained in the letter addressed to the CBI, Wankhede contends.

In the same alleged chat Wankhede is seen telling Shah Rukh that unscrupulous elements were vitiating the atmosphere despite him wanting the kids to “reform”. Shah Rukh allegedly said his son wasn’t part of anything and pleaded with the officer to look at his child with empathy “…his spirit will be destroyed because of some vested people” an alleged text reads.

In his plea Wankhede also cited an affidavit by Aryan Khan in his bail application distancing himself from extortion allegations.

On Friday, a vacation bench of the Bombay High Court granted Wankhede relief against coercive action till May 22. The court observed that prima facie the sanction to prosecute him was hit by the proviso to section 17A of the Prevention of Corruption Act.

Wankhede has approached the High Court challenging the FIR registered against him and five others by the CBI. The agency has accused them of demanding a bribe of Rs 25 crore from family members those arrested in the 2021 Cordelia Cruise Ship Case, including Aryan Khan.

Wankhede is a 2008-batch IRS officer from the reserved category. As former head of the NCB Zonal Unit, Wankhede had led raids where the Cordelia Cruise Ship was docked on October 2, 2021.

The SIT gave a clean chit to Khan and five others last year. Panch witness Prakhakar Sail who detailed the alleged extortion in an affidavit died of a cardiac arrest in April last year.

Wankhede claims in his petition that he led the investigation in the Cordelia Case under the specific orders of his superiors in NCB including Deputy Director General Gnaneshwar Singh.

The CBI FIR is based on Singh's report as head of the SIT in the Cordelia Cruise Ship Case.

However, Wankhede has said that Singh heading the SIT was itself an anomalous situation as he was enquiring into his own conduct.

"In his (Gnaneshwar Singh's) mala fide resolve to cover up his own tracks, has been harassing Petitioner ever since & has not stopped even after Petitioner left (NCB)," the plea states.