SIT that gave clean chit to Aryan Khan in drugs case suppressed evidence, claims Sameer Wankhede

The Special Enquiry Team that gave a clean chit to Shah Rukh Khan’s son Aryan Khan in the Cordelia cruise ship case suppressed material evidence against him and had an ulterior motive, former Narcotics Control Bureau officer Sameer Wankhede told the Bombay High Court on Thursday, PTI reported.

Wankhede alleged that the team “twisted facts and labelled false allegations to jeopardise the career and character of honest officials”.

Wankhede led the investigation in the 2021 Cordelia cruise ship case, in which Aryan Khan was arrested along with his friend Arbaaz Merchant, model Munmum Dhamecha and five others by the Narcotics Control Bureau.

On May 27 last year, the Narcotics Control Bureau cleared Khan of charges in the case as it did not find corroborative evidence against him. Three days later, Wankhede was transferred to the Directorate General of Taxpayer Services in Chennai.

A Special Investigation Team was also set up to look into allegations of impropriety in the case by officers of the anti-drug agency. In October, the SIT said it has found several irregularities in the investigation and also revealed that “selective treatment” was meted out when naming some persons as accused in the case.

In May, Wankhede was booked by the Central Bureau of Investigation on charges of corruption. The agency alleged that he...

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