In a dramatic turn of events surrounding the high-profile Aryan Khan drug case, IRS officer Sameer Wankhede has moved the Bombay High Court, asserting that the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) action against him is an act of revenge. Wankhede, who previously denied bribery allegations, filed an appeal on Friday, demanding relief in the alleged ₹25 crore extortion case related to the arrest of Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan’s son, Aryan Khan, in 2021. The court has granted an urgent hearing at 2:30 PM.
This development comes after Wankhede skipped a CBI summons on Thursday, having been granted protection from arrest by the Delhi High Court until May 22. The Delhi High Court, on May 17, gave Wankhede the liberty to approach the Bombay High Court for further relief. Notably, Wankhede had also sought a cross-FIR against NCB Deputy Director-General Gyaneshwar Singh during the Delhi High Court proceedings.
Wankhede, who gained prominence through his investigations into drug use in Bollywood, first made headlines during the probe into the Rhea Chakraborty case, which focused on the drugs angle in the Sushant Singh Rajput death case. He then led the investigation into the Aryan Khan case in 2021, which attracted significant media attention.
Several allegations against Wankhede emerged during his tenure as the Mumbai zone chief, which ended in 2021. However, after being posted to Chennai, he remained out of the spotlight, with reports suggesting that he spent the maximum number of days on leave.
Wankhede returned to the limelight when the CBI filed an FIR against him, alleging that he demanded a ₹25 crore bribe from Shah Rukh Khan to avoid framing charges against Aryan Khan. The CBI claimed that Wankhede operated through independent witness KP Gosavi, who played a role in the Aryan Khan case. Furthermore, the CBI accused Wankhede of underreporting the expenses of his foreign trips over the past five years.
Besides financial irregularities, Wankhede has been accused of implicating Aryan Khan in the drugs case while allowing the actual possessor of drugs at the cruise party to go free. These allegations raised questions about the fairness and impartiality of the investigation.
Crucially, Shah Rukh Khan’s manager, Pooja Dadlani, reportedly handed over a bag containing ₹50 lakh to KP Gosavi a few hours after Aryan Khan’s arrest. Dadlani’s statement played a pivotal role in the CBI case against Wankhede.
Responding to the accusations, Wankhede vehemently dismissed them and claimed that he was facing the consequences of being a patriotic officer. He alleged that the FIR was filed against him because he had previously lodged a complaint against Gyaneshwar Singh, accusing him of caste-based humiliation. According to Wankhede, Singh used the CBI to assist Aryan Khan in evading charges in the drug case, and the senior officials were kept informed throughout the process of Aryan Khan’s arrest.
The Bombay High Court’s hearing of Sameer Wankhede’s appeal will likely shed further light on the allegations and counter-allegations surrounding this high-profile case. As the nation awaits the court’s decision, the outcome of this legal battle may have far-reaching implications for both Sameer Wankhede’s
