In a major twist in the Aryan Khan case, an NCB witness made some startling claims about collusion and pay-offs against senior NCB officer Sameer Wankhede and KP Gosavi – the alleged private investigator whose selfie with Aryan Khan went viral.
Meanwhile, Wandkhede denied any such wrongdoing and said that he would give a 'fitting reply'.
The witness, Prabhakar Sail, is a personal bodyguard of KP Gosavi. In an affidavit, he 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. Later that evening, 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.
On October 6, Sail said that KP Gosavi has gone missing and he feared for his life, after which a lookout notice was issued against him.
In the affidavit, 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 to sign some blank papers by Gosavi and Sameer Wankhede.
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.
Also later that evening, KP Gosavi, Sam D'Souza and Shah Rukh Khan's manager Pooja Dadlani, had a 15-minute meeting inside a car.
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.
Meanwhile, NCB has denied the claims calling it "baseless". It questioned – "why would someone be in jail" if money had changed hands?
It also said that it was an attempt to "malign the image" of the probe agency.
They also went on say 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," the NCB said as reported by NDTV.
Earlier, Maharashtra minister and Nationalist Congress Party leader Nawab Malik leader had earlier alleged that Wankhede was in Maldives during the lockdown and was conducting an extortion racket on the Bollywood personalities present there.
He also alleged that that the officer is acting at the behest of the BJP to discredit the Maharashtra government.
