The details of FIR made public on Monday show that independent witness K P Gosavi and one Prabhakar Sail, now deceased, were included by the NCB in the Cordelia cruise ship drug raid on October 2, 2021 on the directions of Wankhede.
Maharashtra minister Nawab Malik on Tuesday sought to know why the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) was saving Kashif Khan, one of the organisers of the cruise party where the NCB conducted a raid last month, and what was his relationship with the anti-drugs agency officer Sameer Wankhede.
'The decision to arrest Aryan Khan was a consensual decision, not a one-man command.'
Sail's lawyer said that his family members do not suspect any foul play.
The SET's findings have now been taken on record by the Central Bureau of Investigation which recently raided the 2008-batch Indian Revenue Service officer after it filed an FIR against him for corruption and alleged violation of rules in the raids that took place at the Cordelia cruise berthed at the Mumbai coast on October 2, 2021.
They said Wankhede did not appear for questioning on Thursday and the Central Bureau of Investigation will decide on the future course of action.
The NCB said all the allegations levelled against the agency in connection with the cruise ship raid and alleged recovery of drugs, in which Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan's son Aryan Khan was arrested, are 'baseless, motivated afterthoughts and prejudicial'.
Wankhede, whose interim protection from arrest in the Central Bureau of Investigation's case of extortion and bribery against him was on Thursday extended by the HC till June 23, in his rejoinder affidavit claimed the SET has 'twisted facts and labelled false allegations to jeopardise the career and character of honest officials'.
"In the wee hours of October 3, I came to know that the celebrity who was caught on the ship was Aryan Khan. That time Aryan told Gosavi that he wanted to talk to his manager Pooja Dadlani. Gosavi conveyed Aryan's message. That time Gosavi told me that Aryan Khan was clean and no drugs were found in his possession. He said we can help him (Aryan Khan)," D'Souza claimed.
Police informed that Gosavi is wanted in a case registered with Pune city police in 2018, wherein a chargesheet has been submitted to the court.
Sunil Patil, whom former Mumbai Bharatiya Janata Party youth wing chief Mohit Bharatiya has accused of being the mastermind of the cruise drugs episode, appeared before the Mumbai Police's Special Investigation Team (SIT) on Sunday evening to record his statement, an official said.
The Central Bureau of Investigation on Friday conducted searches at the premises of former Narcotics Control Bureau officer Sameer Wankhede after filing an FIR against him and four others for allegedly seeking Rs 25 crore bribe for not framing Shah Rukh Khan's son Aryan Khan in the drugs-on-cruise case, officials said.
The special enquiry team of the Narcotics Control Bureau, which is probing allegations of extortion attempt in the drugs case involving actor Shah Rukh Khan's son Aryan, has recorded statements of over a dozen persons so far, a senior official said on Friday.
A special team of the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB), probing allegations of extortion in the drugs-on-cruise case in which Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan's son Aryan Khan is one of the accused, left for Delhi on Saturday without recording the statement of witness Prabhakar Sail, who had raised serious charges against Mumbai zonal director Sameer Wankhede and others, an official said.
The witness has been provided protection by the Mumbai police in the wake of revelations he made in his application.
Maharashtra home minister Dilip Walse Patil on Monday said police protection has been given to Prabhakar Sail, an independent witness in the drugs-on-cruise case who has claimed Rs 25 crore was demanded by an NCB official and other persons to let off Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan's son Aryan Khan in the case.
Wankhede presented his version and official documents related to the raid, which took place in October last year at the international cruise terminal in Mumbai, before NCB deputy director general for the northern region Gyaneshwar Singh.
The NCB, through a special public prosecutor, had argued that there were "compelling reasons" to seek the extension.
The four-five member team, led by NCB's Deputy Director General (northern region) Gyaneshwar Singh, is also likely to visit a few other places and will also record the statement of Prabhakar Sail, an independent witness in the case.
Maharashtra minister Nawab Malik on Sunday alleged that Narcotic Control Bureau's Mumbai zonal director Sameer Wankhede was part of a plot to 'kidnap' Aryan Khan, the son of Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan.
The Narcotics Control Bureau's deputy director general, northern region, Gyaneshwar Singh, who is heading the departmental vigilance probe into allegations of extortion in the drugs-on-cruise case, arrived at the agency's office in Mumbai on Wednesday.
The probe agency, in its plea, has claimed that the chemical examination reports of all the 17 samples were received on March 12, which proved that all the contraband recovered during the raid are narcotics/psychotropic drugs within the ambit of the NDPS Act.
The Bombay High Court on Wednesday rejected an application seeking pre-arrest bail filed by Samville D'Souza, whose name had cropped up in connection with allegations of pay-off in the case of drug seizure in which Aryan Khan, actor Shah Rukh Khan's son, was arrested.
The NCB and Wankhede had earlier in the day filed two separate affidavits before the special court against the allegations of extortion attempt levelled against them.
On legal front, Wankhede, who the NCB asserted has an impeccable service record, failed to get any relief related to an affidavit on the sensational extortion claims made by the independent witness, Prabhakar Sail, with a special court saying it cannot pass a blanket order barring courts from taking cognisance of the document.