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Tag: Shah Rukh Khan

  • Nawab Malik vs Sameer Wankhede: NCB official to meet NCSC chairperson in Delhi, submit caste documents

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: Sameer Wankhede, the Narcotics Control Bureau’s Mumbai zonal head, will meet National Commission for Scheduled Castes chairperson Vijay Sampla here on Monday to present his original caste documents to prove that he is a Dalit, sources said.

    Wankhede will meet Sampla at the NCSC office here at around 12 pm, sources said.

    Wankhede is leading the probe in the cruise drugs case in which actor Shah Rukh Khan’s son Aryan Khan was arrested.

    The NCB has ordered a vigilance inquiry into the allegations made by a witness in the case of an extortion bid of Rs 25 crore by some agency officials, including Wankhede, and others for letting off Khan.

    Manharashtra minister and NCP leader Nawab Malik has levelled a series of allegations against Wankhede.

    Among other things, he has accused the officer of forging his caste certificate and other documents to secure a job as IRS officer under the SC quota after clearing the UPSC examination.

    Malik claimed that Wankhede is a Muslim by birth, although the latter has denied it On Sunday, Arun Halder, vice chairman of the NCSC had come out in Wankhede’s support, saying the officer is doing good work and making his department proud, but a minister has launched a personal attack against him and his family members.

    Halder also visited Wankhede’s residence in Mumbai.

  • WhatsApp chats not proof enough to show accused supplied drugs to Aryan Khan, says court

    By PTI

    MUMBAI: A special court here while granting bail to Aachit Kumar last week in the drugs-on-cruise case said merely on the basis of WhatsApp chats, it cannot be gathered that he had supplied drugs to co-accused Aryan Khan, the son of Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan, and Arbaaz Merchant.

    The court in its detailed order, a copy of which was made available on Sunday, also raised questions on the veracity of the Narcotics Control Bureau’s (NCB) panchnama records said they were fabricated and seemed suspicious.

    Special Judge V V Patil, designated to hear cases related to the Narcotics Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, granted bail to 22-year-old Kumar on Saturday.

    The court in its detailed order observed that except for the WhatsApp chats with Aryan Khan, there is no evidence to show Kumar was indulging in such activities.

    Merely on the basis of WhatsApp chats, it cannot be gathered that the applicant (Kumar) used to supply contraband to accused No 1 and 2 (Aryan Khan and Arbaaz Merchant), especially when the accused No 1, with whom there are WhatsApp chats, has been granted bail by the High Court, the order said.

    Aryan Khan and Merchant, who were arrested in the cruise drugs case on October 3, were granted bail by the Bombay High Court last Thursday.

    The special court also noted that there was no evidence against Kumar to connect him with any of the other accused in the case.

    The panchnama is fabricated and was not prepared on the spot and therefore, the recovery shown under the panchnama is suspicious and cannot be relied upon, the court said.

    There is no evidence on record showing that the applicant (Kumar) supplied drugs to accused No 1 (Aryan Khan) or to anybody and therefore, the applicant is entitled to be released on bail, the order said.

    Kumar, the accused no. 17 in the case, was arrested on October 6 by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) based on the statement given by co-accused- Aryan Khan and Arbaaz Merchant.

    The NCB had claimed to have recovered 2.6 grams of ganja from Kumar’s residence. According to the anti-drugs agency, Kumar used to supply ganja and Charas to Aryan Khan and Merchant.

    The NCB argued that it had evidence in the form of WhatsApp chats between Kumar and Aryan Khan which show they were dealing in drugs.

    Kumar’s advocate Ashwin Thool had argued that the 22-year-old was innocent and all allegations against him were false and baseless.

    The court in its order noted that though the NCB has claimed Kumar was a peddler, it has not stated a single occasion where Kumar acted as a peddler.

    It also held that Kumar was put in illegal detention for a day as he was detained from his house on October 5, but was shown as arrested only on October 6.

    The court further said there was nothing on record to show that there was any conspiracy between Kumar and Aryan Khan, and when Aryan Khan has been granted bail, then on the ground of parity, Kumar can also be released.

    The court, while granting bail to four others who were linked to the event management company Caneplus Trading Pvt Ltd which had organised live shows on the Cordelia cruise, noted that there was nothing placed on record by the NCB to show they had financed or harboured any offenders on the ship.

    The four accused were Samir Sehgal, Gopalji Anand, Manav Singhal and Bhaskar Arora.

    Of the total 20 people arrested in the case, 14 persons have been so far granted bail.

    Aryan Khan, Arbaaz Merchant and Munmun Dhamecha were granted bail last week by the Bombay High Court, while the remaining were granted bail by the special NDPS court.

  • Cruise drugs case: PIL in SC seeks CBI probe, direction to Centre to frame witness protection scheme

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: A PIL has been filed in the Supreme Court seeking a CBI probe into the Mumbai drugs-on-cruise case alleging that there has been interference in the ongoing probe of the Narcotics Control Bureau in the matter.

    The case involves Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan’s son Aryan Khan and others as accused and has triggered a series of controversies and put the bureau and its officials under the spotlight.

    The public interest litigation (PIL) has also sought a direction to the Union Ministry of Home Affairs to frame the national witness protection scheme as recommended in various reports of the Law Commission.

    Aryan Khan, along with co-accused Arbaaz Merchant and fashion model Munmun Dhamecha, was granted bail on Thursday by the Bombay High Court, 25 days after he was arrested during a drug raid on a cruise ship off the Mumbai coast.

    Lawyer M L Sharma, in the PIL filed in his personal capacity, has referred to the controversies raised by Maharashtra Minister Nawab Malik against Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) zonal director Sameer Wankhede and others in the case, and sought a CBI probe into the entire case, including the alleged interference into the ongoing investigation of the NCB.

    Besides seeking CBI probe, the plea also sought a direction for providing “protection to all the witnesses” to the instant case.

    The PIL also raised the legality of a complaint lodged with the Mumbai Police by a local lawyer using the alleged disclosure of a bribe saga by one of the witnesses, Prabhakar Sail, in the case.

    Raising a legal question for adjudication by the apex court, the PIL asked whether a minister may continue to hold his constitutional office even after “interfering” with the investigation and “maligning” the investigation officer.

    “No one is allowed to interfere in the criminal justice systems. The State and state minister are duty bound to protect the Constitution and not to interfere in the investigation and criminal process,” it said.

    “Witnesses are liable to be protected and not to be arrested and tortured to give favourable statements favouring the accused persons,” the PIL said.

    The NCB had busted an alleged drugs party on the Goa-bound Cordelia Cruise ship at mid-sea on October 2 and 20 people, including two Nigerian nationals, were arrested in the case.

    Aryan Khan, Merchant and Dhamecha were arrested by the NCB on October 3 and booked under relevant sections of the Narcotics Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act (NDPS) for possession, consumption, sale/purchase of banned drugs, conspiracy and abetment.

  • My fight against Wankhede’s fraud, says Nawab Malik as Uddhav government mulls probe against NCB official

    By ANI

    MUMBAI: Maharashtra Minister and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Nawab Malik on Sunday reiterated his allegations against Narcotics Control Bureau’s Zonal Director Sameer Wankhede and said that he firmly stands by his statements and his fight was against fraud and not religion or caste.

    He also accused Wankhede of taking away the opportunity of the SC and added that the ‘fight’ is against the ‘fraud’ and not his religion or caste.

    “I stand by my statement that he’s (Sameer Wankhede) on post by forging SC certificate. He snatched away a poor SC’s rights. Fight against fraud not religion/caste. I urge Arun Haldar (National Commission for SC, Vice-Chairman) to maintain his post’s dignity,” the minister said while speaking to reporters here.

    He had earlier accused Wankhede of falsely framing people under NDPS Act. Notably, Wankhede was investigating the drugs-on-cruise case involving Aryan Khan, son of Shah Rukh Khan.

    “When I started (raising allegations against Sameer Wankhede), people I know told me to stop. They said that Shah Rukh Khan is being told that his son is trapped as he (Khan) speaks. My lawyer son was being brainwashed by other lawyers. He used to tell me to stop,” said Malik.

    Alleging that attempts were made to silence him, he added, “Some people said that matter relating to drugs involve money, goons and I could lose my life. Attempts were made to silence me. But I had said that we will take this to a logical end. If someone says they will kill Nawab Malik, then I’ll die the day I have to.”

    An NCB team busted an alleged drugs party on the Cordelia Cruise ship which was on its way to Goa on October 2. A total of 20 people were arrested in the case. Wankhede was given charge of investigating the case.

    Earlier on Thursday, Wankhede had moved Bombay High Court over the enquiry against him by the Maharashtra government in connection with the extortion charges levelled against him in the drugs on cruise case and demanded a probe by CBI or any central agency in the matter. The court had disposed of his petition.

    Meanwhile, the Maharashtra Social Justice Minister Dhananjay Munde while reacting to the allegations that Wankhede faked his caste certificate for the job, said on Sunday that if the department receives a formal complaint, it will investigate the matter.

    “If someone objects to the validity of the caste certificate of Sameer Wankhede and files a complaint with the social justice department, we will probe the matter,” said Dhananjay Munde, Maharashtra Social Justice Minister.

    Malik who has been levelling various allegations on Wankhede since the Mumbai drugs-on-cruise case came to the fore, accused him of using a fake birth certificate to secure a government job.

    He had alleged that Sameer Wankhede was born a Muslim but he forged documents, including a caste certificate, to pass off as a Scheduled Caste (SC) person to get recruitment under quota after clearing the UPSC exams.

    He had shared the birth certificate of Wankhede on Twitter saying “Sameer Dawood Wankhede’s fraud started from here.” Following this Wankhede said he will fight Malik legally.

    Malik had also shared a purported picture of ‘nikah’ of Wankhede with his first wife Dr Shabana Quraishi.

    “Photo of sweet couple Sameer Dawood Wankhede and Dr Shabana Qureshi,” Malik had said in a tweet along with a photograph.

    In a subsequent tweet, the minister said, “Presenting shortly the ‘Nikah Nama’ of the first marriage of ‘Sameer Dawood Wankhede’.”

  • Cruise drugs case: NDPS court grants bail to seven more accused

    By PTI

    MUMBAI: A special court here on Saturday granted bail to alleged drug peddler Aachit Kumar and six others arrested in a drugs seizure case, in which Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan’s son Aryan Khan is one of the accused.

    Special court judge V V Patil, hearing cases related to the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, granted bail to the seven accused.

    With this, 12 of the 20 arrested accused have got bail in the high-profile case so far.

    Earlier, the NDPS court had denied bail to Aryan Khan.

    However, the Bombay High Court on Thursday granted bail to him and his two co-accused Arbaaz Merchant and Munmun Dhamecha.

    The NCB had claimed that it had arrested Aachit Kumar based on the statements of Aryan Khan and Arbaaz Merchant.

    The agency has alleged that he used to supply drugs to Aryan Khan.

    The other accused whose bail pleas were allowed by the special court on Saturday are Nupur Satija, Gomit Chopra, Gopalji Anand, Samir Sehgal, Manav Singhal and Bhaskar Arora.

    The court’s detailed bail order is yet to be made available.

    On October 26, the special court had granted bail to two other accused in the case – Manish Rajgaria and Avin Sahu.

    They were the first ones to get bail in this case.

    On October 2, the NCB had raided the cruise ship and claimed to have seized banned drugs.

    Earlier on Saturday, Aryan Khan walked out of the Arthur Road jail in central Mumbai, where he was lodged for the last 22 days following his arrest in the case.

  • Aryan Khan to spend one more night behind bars; jail official says papers did not reach in time

    By Online Desk

    Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan’s son Aryan Khan, who was granted bail by the Bombay High Court in a drugs case on Thursday, will not be released from jail on Friday. He will be released on Saturday morning, according to Arthur Road Jail officials.

    “We won’t give special treatment for anyone. The law is the same for all. The deadline for receiving the bail papers was 5. 30 pm. That has passed. He won’t be released today,” an official told PTI.

    The assertion by the prison official came even as there were indications from Aryan’s legal team that a “slight postponement till 7 pm” was possible.

    ALSO READ | ‘Rs 1 lakh personal bond, surrender passport’:  HC imposes 14 conditions for Aryan Khan’s bail

    “A physical copy of the release order has to be put into the bail box outside Arthur Road Jail for the release. The jail officials wait until 5.35 pm for this”, Nitin Waychal, Arthur Road Jail Superintendent, said

    Aryan Khan’s bail | A physical copy of the release order has to be put into the bail box outside Arthur Road Jail for the release. The jail officials wait until 5.35 pm for this: Nitin Waychal, Arthur Road Jail Superintendent pic.twitter.com/bV3fz9N7LD
    — ANI (@ANI) October 29, 2021
    While granting Aryan bail on Thursday in the drugs-on-cruise case, the Bombay High Court imposed 14 bail conditions on him, paving the way for his release from jail.

    In the five-page order, the high court said that Aryan Khan and and his two co-accused Arbaaz Merchant and Munmun Dhamecha, who were also granted bail, shall be released on a personal bond of Rs one lakh each with one or two sureties of the same amount.

    The court has accepted Juhi Chawla, a co-star of SRK in many films, as the surety in Aryan’s bail and she signed the relevant papers and executed the bail bond before the court officials, said Aryan Khan’s lawyer Satish Maneshinde.

    Maneshinde said the Bombay High Court will send the orders directly to the jail after the court formalities are completed.

    Earlier, Shah Rukh Khan had reportedly left in a small motorcade along with aides and security personnel to pick up son Aryan from the jail.

    Justice NW Sambre granted bail to Aryan and two others – Arbaaz Merchant and Munmun Dhamecha – on Thursday evening, but the bail orders were received only on Friday, paving the way for the trio to return home.

    Soon after the bail verdict was pronounced Thursday, SRK reportedly shed tears of joy, and later met his entire legal defence team which had been fighting for Aryan’s release for the past four weeks.

    The happy-go-lucky Aryan – who left home on October 2 for a fun-filled Mumbai-Goa cruise voyage, totally oblivious of what was in store – was suddenly detained after the NCB swoop, arrested the following day, and has been in custody since then – making it a total of 28 days that he slept away from his ‘Mannat’ bedroom.

    (With agency inputs)

  • Key witness in Aryan Khan case Kiran Gosavi sent to 8-day police custody

    By Express News Service

    MUMBAI: A Pune court on Thursday sent the key witness in the Aryan Khan case Kiran Gosavi to 8-day police custody after he was arrested in connection with a 2018 cheating case registered against him in the city.

    Gosavi’s selfie and videos with Aryan Khan had gone viral on social media after the NCB’s raid on the cruise ship off the Mumbai coast on October 2. Later, Pune police issued a lookout circular against him on October 14 in 2018 cheating case.

    Gosavi had been moving to various locations in Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, and Telangana while on the run.

    ALSO READ | Aryan Khan gets bail in drugs-on-cruise case, to be freed on Friday

    Pune police commissioner Amitabh Gupta said as Gosavi’s selfie went viral, it helped the cops to trace his locations before the arrest. “Gosavi did not surrender but was arrested by Pune crime branch in a cheating case of 2018. There are other cases against him as well. It took us 10 days to nab him. He was on run and moved from place to place in Uttar Pradesh, Telangana, and Maharashtra.

    Prabhakar Sail, the personal bodyguard of Gosavi, had earlier alleged that the latter took Rs 50 lakh from an individual after the raid at the cruise ship. He also said that Sameer Wankhede and his close associates had demanded Rs 25 crore from Shah Rukh Khan to release his son Aryan. Gosavi, however, had denied the allegations.

    ALSO READ | Mumbai police set up team for inquiry into ‘extortion bid’ in Aryan case

    The Pune police said on Thursday that there is no demand to hand over Gosavi to the Mumbai Police or any other agencies, including the NCB. Elaborating on the matter, Gupta said, “Kiran Gosavi was using ‘Sachin Patil’ as the alias to stay in hotels at various places. He used to tell people that he runs an NGO or a businessman into export and imports, etc,” he added.

    Before his arrest, Gosavi had shared his video message saying: “Prabhakar Sail is lying. All I want to request is that his CDR report be released. If my CDR report or chats can be released, CDR reports and chats of Sail and his brother should also be released. Only then everything will be clear.”

    Gosavi further said, “At least one minister or a leader of the Opposition in Maharashtra must stand with me”, adding that the politician(s) could “at least request the Mumbai Police to make public what I am demanding” (the CDR and chats of Prabhakar Sail).

  • Aryan Khan case witness, wanted in 2018 cheating case, arrested in Pune

    By Express News Service

    MUMBAI: Pune Police on Thursday arrested Kiran Gosavi, an independent witness of the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) in the drugs-on-cruise case, in connection with a 2018 cheating case registered against him here, a senior official said.

    Gosavi’s selfie and videos with Aryan Khan had gone viral on social media after the NCB’s raid on the cruise ship off the Mumbai coast on October 2. Later, Pune police issued a lookout circular against him on October 14 in 2018 cheating case.

    Gosavi had been moving to various locations in Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, and Telangana while on the run. The accused was later produced in a Pune court which sent him to police custody for eight days.

    Pune police commissioner Amitabh Gupta said as Gosavi’s selfie went viral, it helped the cops to trace his locations before the arrest. “Gosavi did not surrender but was arrested by Pune crime branch in a cheating case of 2018. There are other cases against him as well. It took us 10 days to nab him. He was on run and moved from place to place in Uttar Pradesh, Telangana, and Maharashtra.

    Prabhakar Sail, the personal bodyguard of Gosavi, had earlier alleged that the latter took Rs 50 lakh from an individual after the raid at the cruise ship. He also said that Sameer Wankhede and his close associates had demanded Rs 25 crore from Shah Rukh Khan to release his son Aryan. Gosavi, however, had denied the allegations.

    The Pune police said on Thursday that there is no demand to hand over Gosavi to the Mumbai Police or any other agencies, including the NCB. Elaborating on the matter, Gupta said, “Kiran Gosavi was using ‘Sachin Patil’ as the alias to stay in hotels at various places. He used to tell people that he runs an NGO or a businessman into export and imports, etc,” he added.

    Before his arrest, Gosavi had shared his video message saying: “Prabhakar Sail is lying. All I want to request is that his CDR report be released. If my CDR report or chats can be released, CDR reports and chats of Sail and his brother should also be released. Only then everything will be clear.”

    Gosavi further said, “At least one minister or a leader of the Opposition in Maharashtra must stand with me”, adding that the politician(s) could “at least request the Mumbai Police to make public what I am demanding” (the CDR and chats of Prabhakar Sail).

  • NCB being used to ‘defame, harass’ people: Maha minister Jayant Patil

    By PTI

    MUMBAI: Maharashtra minister and NCP state chief Jayant Patil on Thursday claimed that the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) was being used to “harass and defame” citizens.

    Speaking to reporters in Ratnagiri, he also said that party leader and state minister Nawab Malik, who has levelled various allegations against NCB’s Mumbai zonal director Sameer Wankhede, was “bringing out the truth”.

    Wankhede is in the eye of a political storm following allegations of extortion in the high-profile cruise drugs case in which actor Shah Rukh Khan’s son Aryan Khan was arrested earlier this month.

    The officer is facing the departmental vigilance probe.

    “The NCB is being used for defaming, harassing and putting people behind bars for a longer period. This has happened with Aryan Khan and many others. It has to be probed thoroughly,” Patil said.

    He said state minister Nawab Malik has made certain claims (against NCB officials) which can be substantiated with documents.

    “Sameer Wankhede is facing an inquiry before senior NCB officials, who have come to Mumbai for an investigation.

    The certificates provided by him, how he joined the IRS and got quota benefits—all will come out in the coming days.

    I hope the committee (NCB vigilance probe team) has not come here to cover up his mess,” the state water resources minister said.

    To a question on Malik’s allegations against Wankhede, Patil said the minority affairs minister was “bringing out the truth”.

    “The central agencies are making mistakes and diverting attention as well. These agencies are being used to harass common citizens,” he claimed.

    Malik has repeatedly termed the cruise drugs case as “fake” and levelled various allegations against Wankhede, including illegal phone tapping and using forged documents to secure job.

    Wankhede has refuted the allegations and denied any wrongdoing.

  • Sameer Wankhede vs Nawab Malik: HC trashes PIL seeking to restrain Maharashtra minister

    By PTI

    MUMBAI: The Bombay High Court on Wednesday refused to grant an urgent hearing to a PIL that sought directions to Maharashtra minister and NCP leader Nawab Malik to refrain from making any comments against the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB), in light of the drugs case in which actor Shah Rukh Khan’s son Aryan Khan is an accused.

    The PIL was filed on Tuesday by city resident Kausar Ali, who claims to be a priest and a person working for the rehabilitation of drug addicts.

    Ali urged the HC to direct Malik not to make any comments against the NCB or any other investigating agency associated with the Aryan Khan case and officers of such agencies, saying it will demoralise the probe agencies and encourage drug abuse among citizens.

    The petitioner’s counsel, Ashok Sarogi, mentioned the PIL before a bench of Chief Justice Dipankar Datta and Justice MS Karnik seeking an urgent hearing.

    The HC however, asked Sarogi to approach the vacation bench that will assemble from next week, or to wait for regular courts to resume after the Diwali holidays that will start on November 1.

    “Move the vacation bench or wait for the regular benches to assemble,” the HC said.

    The PIL, siting some of Malik’s recent tweets, said the minister has been tweeting and making claims against the NCB and its officer Sameer Wankhede to “demoralise” them.

    The plea claimed that the NCB, under the supervision of Wankhede, has proven to be the “most effective” agency in the recent past.

    Aryan Khan (23) was arrested on October 3 along with his friend Arbaaz Merchant, fashion model Dhamecha and some others by the NCB, after it raided a cruise ship off the Mumbai coast and claimed to have seized drugs onboard.

    While Aryan Khan and Merchant are now lodged at the Arthur Road prison, Dhamecha is at the Byculla women’s prison.

    A special court for NDPS cases had refused to grant them bail following which they moved the high court.

    Malik has repeatedly termed the cruise drugs case as “fake” and levelled various allegations against Wankhede, including illegal phone tapping.

    Wankhede has refuted the allegations and denied any wrong-doing.