New Delhi: A witness in the drugs case against megastar Shah Rukh Khan’s son, has made shocking claims about collusion and pay-offs against the Narcotics Control Bureau’s senior officer Sameer Wankhede and KP Gosavi — the alleged private investigator whose selfie with Aryan Khan went viral. Mr Wankhede has denied any wrongdoing, saying he would give “a fitting reply”.
In an affidavit, Prabhakar Sail — who said he is a personal bodyguard of KP Gosavi — claimed he was present in a car and heard KP Gosavi speak to one Sam D’Souza of an 18 crore deal, of which 8 crore was to be paid to Sameer Wankhede. Minutes later, KP Gosavi, Sam D’Souza and Shah Rukh Khan’s manager Pooja Dadlani, had a 15-minute meeting inside a car. He also said he had received the cash from KP Gosavi and handed it over to Sam D’Souza.
Mr Sail — who is the first of the nine witnesses the agency named in a press release on October 6 — said KP Gosavi has gone missing and he feared for his life, which was why he filed the affidavit. A lookout notice has been issued against KP Gosavi.
In the affidavit, Prabhakar Sail gave a detailed account of the day on which the cruise ship was raided. He said he was present near the boarding area of the cruise ship on October 2 and was asked to identify some of the people boarding the vessel. He said he was sent a series of photographs on WhatsApp to help with the identification.
“At about 10.30 pm I was called (by) KP Gosavi in the boarding area and I saw Aryan Khan in one of the cabins at the cruise boarding area. I saw one girl, Munmun Dhamecha and few others with NCB officials,” he said in the affidavit.
After Aryan Khan and the others were taken to the NCB office, he said he was asked by Gosavi and Sameer Wankhede to sign some blank papers.
Later, he said, KP Gosavi met one Sam D’Souza who then got into separate cars and went to Lower Parel. “Till such time we reached Lower Parel KP Gosavi was talking to Sam on the phone and stated that you put a bomb (exaggerated demand) of 25 crores and let’s settle at 18 final because we have to give 8 crores to Sameer Wankhede,” the affidavit read.
Prabhakar Sail said he was also asked to collect cash from near a hotel. He was given two bags of cash by people in a white car, which he delivered to Sam D’Souza near Trident Hotel. When the cash was counted, it amounted to 38 lakh and not 50 lakh, he said in affidavit.
“As he (Prabhakar Sail) is a witness in the case and the case is before the honourable court and sub judice, he needs to submit his prayer to the Honourable court rather than through social media if he has anything to say… I am hereby forwarding the affidavit to Director General Narcotics Control Bureau and requesting him for further necessary action,” read a statement from the agency. Mr Wankhede, the agency added, has categorically denied the allegations.
Sources in the agency have called the claims “baseless”, questioning if money had changed hands, “why would someone be in jail”. Alleging that the claims were made “just to malign the (agency’s) image”, a source said, “There are CCTV cameras in the office and nothing of this sort happened”.
Off the record, officials also claimed that they never met Prabhakar Sail before October 2 and have “no idea about who he is”.
“This affidavit can be taken to NDPS court and we will give our response there,” a source said.
Aryan Khan is yet to receive bail in the case. The agency has told the court that his WhatsApp chats indicate he was in touch with an international cartel carrying on the drugs trade.
Maharashtra minister and Nationalist Congress Party leader Nawab Malik has alleged that Sameer Wankhede was in Maldives during the lockdown and was conducting an extortion racket on the Bollywood personalities present there. He has also alleged that the officer is acting at the behest of the BJP to discredit the Maharashtra government.
Mr Wankhede has brushed off the allegations, saying he went to Maldives with his children, “with proper permission, legally and with my own money”.
