CBI quizzes ex-NCB Mumbai chief Sameer Wankhede for five hours

A team of Central Bureau of Investigation quizzed IRS officer Sameer Wankhede - the former Mumbai Zonal Director of the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) - in connection with the alleged extortion case pertaining to the Cordelia cruise raid case in which Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan's son Aryan was arrested, here on Saturday.

As per the directive of the Bombay High Court on Friday, Wankhede went to the CBI regional headquarters in Bandra Kurla Complex to record his statement at around 11 a.m. on Saturday.

He was granted a lunch break and then questioned for another couple of hours before being allowed to leave at around 4.30 p.m., official sources said.

On Friday, the Bombay High Court had granted him relief from any coercive action till May 22. An IRS officer of 2008 batch, Wankhede's role during the Cordelia Cruise ship raid on October 2, 2021 has come under the radar of the CBI.

It may be recalled that minister in the previous Maha Vikas Aghadi government and Nationalist Congress Party leader Nawab Malik, and a witness in the cruise raids Prabhakar Sail (who died last year), had levelled several allegations of corruption against Wankhede and the raid team.

However, Wankhede has stoutly denied all the allegations against him and expressed his full faith in the judiciary, the Central government and the CBI to give him justice.

Thereafter, Wankhede was relieved from the cruise raid case and later an internal probe was conducted vis-a-vis the allegations he faced, even as the NCB gave a 'clean chit' to Aryan Khan for lack of evidence against him in May 2022.

Besides Wankhede, the CBI has booked two other NCB officers, Vishwa Vijay Singh and Ashish Ranjan, and witnesses in the ship case, K.P. Gosavi and Sanvile D'Souza.

Meanwhile, the Bombay high court has posted Wankhede's plea for further hearing on Monday.