Mumbai sessions court has rejected Sameer Wankhede's plea to prevent his arrest. The zonal director Sameer Wankhede and NCB had filed a plea fearing the officer's arrest amid new allegations and attempts to create hurdles in a "fair investigation".
The Aryan Khan case took a shocking turn when one of the witnesses turned hostile. Witness Prabhakar Sail alleged that NCB officials had asked for extortion from Shah Rukh Khan for releasing Aryan.
The extortion allegations
The witness Prabhakar Sail alleged that he heard KP Gosavi talking to one Sam D'Souza and demanding Rs. 25 crore from Shah Rukh Khan. He claims to have heard the person agreeing to settle at Rs. 18 crore as Rs. 8 crore allegedly be given to Sameer Wankhede.
NCP leader and Maharashtra minister Nawab Malik raised questions on Wankhede's integrity and also accused him of forging his caste certificate. "My wife died six years ago. She had once prepared an affidavit in which it is mentioned that my name is Dnyandev Wankhede. I even have a valid caste certificate with me. And not just me, even my relatives have similar documents to establish it," Sameer Wankhede shot back at Nawab Malik.
Probe against the allegations
"We have started a vigilance inquiry on the basis of an affidavit available publicly and a report received from our south-west region DDG (Mutha Ashok Jain)," a senior NCB official said about starting an enquiry.
On being asked if Wankhede would continue heading the operation, the official told HT, "It is too early to say anything. We have just begun. Let us investigate the allegations first."
