NCB Team Probing Extortion Claims In Aryan Case Records Statements Over Dozen Witnesses

The Special Enquiry Team (SET) of the NCB which is probing allegations of an extortion attempt in the drugs case involving actor Shah Rukh Khan's son Aryan has recorded statements of over a dozen persons so far, a senior official said on Friday.

Deputy Director-General of the Narcotics Control Bureau Gyaneshwar Singh, who is heading the vigilance inquiry, said the team was satisfied with the pace and direction of the probe.

"We have recorded statements of 14-15 people...We are trying to complete it as early as possible, but we are waiting for some important witnesses to join the probe," he told reporters here.

The team has recorded statements of witness Prabhakar Sail and NCB zonal director Sameer Wankhede, among others.

Sail, who claimed to be the bodyguard of NCB witness K P Gosavi, alleged in an affidavit last month that he had heard Gosavi discussing a Rs 25 crore pay-off deal after Aryan Khan was arrested during a raid on a cruise ship off the Mumbai coast.

He also claimed that Gosavi had said Rs 8 crore of the deal money was to be given to Wankhede. The officer has denied the allegation.

"We can't give any timeline for concluding the probe, because certain things are beyond us. Let people join the investigation," Singh said.

The SET will examine Gosavi after he is sent in judicial custody and an application in this regard will be heard by the court on Monday, he said.

Gosavi is currently in Pune cantonment police's custody in a cheating case. Asked if the team will also record statements of Aryan and (Shah Rukh Khan's manager) Puja Dadlani, Singh said it will speak to all people who are important for the inquiry.

As to his meeting with Mumbai police commissioner Hemant Nagrale, he said the latter promised to cooperate in the case.

"We have received some CCTV footage. We are waiting for some more," he added.