Five people have been charged with corruption by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), including former Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) officer Sameer Wankhede, for allegedly asking the owners of the Cordelia ship, where actor Shah Rukh Khan’s son Aryan Khan was detained in connection with a drug case, for a bribe of Rs 25 crore.
According to CBI sources, 29 raids and an FIR has been filed. These places include Delhi, Mumbai, Ranchi, and Kanpur.
Sameer Wankhede
Image Source: Jagran English
During the Cordelia cruise drug bust case, Sameer Wankhede, an IRS officer, served as the director of the Narcotics Control Bureau’s (NCB) Mumbai zone. On the night of October 2, 2021, Sameer Wankhede organised a group of officers, including Vishwa Vijay Singh, to raid the Cordelia ship off the coast of Mumbai.
Following the raid, which resulted in the arrest of 17 people, including Aryan Khan, the NCB claimed to have found 13 grams of cocaine, five grams of mephedrone, 21 grams of marijuana, 22 pills of MDMA (ecstasy), and Rs 1.33 lakh in cash. It was claimed that Sameer Wankhede conducted a “shoddy investigation” in the case.
The Bombay High Court finally granted Aryan Khan bail on October 28. In the end, another NCB team that looked into the matter decided not to chargesheet him in the case because of a lack of evidence.
The NCB terminated the employment of Vishwa Vijay Singh, its superintendent, last week. Singh was a part of the squad that searched the Cordelia cruise ship and apprehended Aryan Khan. Singh was fired, in accordance with NCB officials, due to another incident in which he was suspended in April 2022 and an inquiry was mandated. According to officials, Singh was fired after considering the inquiry report’s conclusions.
In line with the investigation, Singh reportedly accompanied a group of officers to Shah Rukh Khan‘s home in Mannat.
A vigilance enquiry was then requested against the NCB’s Mumbai squad in response to claims of irregularities in the raid on the ship, including using panchas (witnesses) with a history of criminal activity; it was completed in November 2022. Departmental action was imposed against seven officers, whose identities were kept secret, based on the investigation.
Also Read: A New Twist Rocks The Aryan Khan Drug Case.
