Mumbai: A witness in the controversial Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) investigation into an alleged drug bust involving actor Shah Rukh Khan’s son Aryan Khan has claimed that he was made to sign a blank paper, and that there were talks of a payoff worth crores.
The witness, Prabhakar Sail, is an aide of another witness, K.P. Gosavi, a man who is not associated with the NCB officially but was purportedly seen escorting Aryan at its Mumbai headquarters in a video released by the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP).
Sail is believed to have made the allegations in an affidavit notarised Saturday. He reiterated the claims in a video released to journalists, and cited a threat to his life, crying foul over Gosavi’s alleged absence from the scene. Gosavi has allegedly absconded since a row erupted over his role in the Aryan Khan case.
Sail alleged that he heard Gosavi talk about demanding Rs 25 crore and settle at Rs 18 crore because “Rs 8 crore needs to be given to Sameer Wankhede, NCB’s zonal director”. Wankhede led the team behind the alleged 2 October bust that led to Aryan’s arrest.
He doesn’t specify who the money was to be demanded from. However, immediately afterwards, he refers to an alleged meeting between Gosavi and Shah Rukh Khan’s manager Pooja Dadlani.
“I am presenting this video today because I am getting scared of Sameer Wankhede (NCB Zonal director). My wife had also called a few days ago and she had got phone calls from the police just to enquire,” Sail says in the video statement.
“If anything happens to my family then who will I live for? Because I am now getting scared of Sameer Wankhede, I am trying to tell you all about this through a video. Thank you.”
ThePrint reached Sail through phone calls, but his number was switched off. The NCB said in a statement Sunday that Wankhede has “categorically denied these allegations”.
“As some of the contents of the affidavit relate to vigilance matters, I am hereby forwarding the affidavit to Director General Narcotics Control Bureau and requesting him for further necessary action,” NCB Deputy Director General Mutha Ashok Jain said.
Aryan Khan was detained on 2 October along with two others — Munmun Dhamecha and Arbaaz Merchant — after an NCB raid on a party allegedly involving drugs at a cruise off Mumbai. The trio is currently under arrest for charges regarding alleged possession and consumption of drugs.
In Sail’s affidavit, which has gone viral, he claims to have served as Gosavi’s personal bodyguard since 22 July. He says he had been living with Gosavi first at the latter’s Thane residence and then at Vashi, where he moved in September 2021.
In the affidavit, Sail said, “…I received a call from K.P. Gosavi instructing me to sign as pancha and called me to NCB office. I reached there and Sameer Wankhede instructed the staff to take my signatures and name one Salekar from NCB told me to sign on ten blank papers (sic)”.
“Salekar asked me my Aadhar details. As I was not carrying my Aadhar I asked him if I could send softcopy of the same to his WhatsApp,” Sail said.
The affidavit says Sail heard Gosavi speak to one person called Sam D’Souza, saying “you put a bomb of 25 crore and let’s settle at 18 final because we have to give 8 crores to Sameer Wankhede”.
“After a few minutes one blue coloured Mercedes came to the spot and I saw Pooja Dadlani came in the car,” it adds. “Sam, K.P. Gosavi and Pooja Dadlani sat in the Mercedes and started talking.”
Sail says “K.P. Gosavi is missing now and I now fear that NCB officials and other persons involved may kill me or abduct me like K.P. Gosavi”.
“As seen in big cases witnesses are often killed and taken away and I therefore want to state the truth,” he adds.
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Sequence of events, according to Sail affidavit & video statement
According to the affidavit, Gosavi left for Ahmedabad by road in a white Innova on 27 September and asked Sail to stay back. On the night of 1 October, Gosavi allegedly told Sail that he had left Ahmedabad and asked him to be ready by 7.30 am the next day. Gosavi, the affidavit says, transferred Rs 500 to Sail’s Google Pay account and asked him to reach an address that was the NCB’s office.
Gosavi’s driver allegedly told Sail that the former was in the NCB office. At 10 am, Gosavi and one NCB officer left in the white Innova and called Sail at noon to Green Gate at Ballard Pier. Gosavi and Sail then purchased some snacks from another place and allegedly distributed them among the NCB team on returning to Green Gate.
“I was thereafter told not to leave the premises and instructed to wait in the waiting area for the cruise near Green Gate,” Sail said in the affidavit.
Gosavi then allegedly sent Sail some photographs and asked him to keep an eye out for the people in the pictures.
“At about 10.30 pm, I was called (by) K.P. Gosavi to the boarding area and I saw Aryan Khan in one of the cabin at the cruise boarding area. I saw one girl Munmumn Dhamecha and few others with NCB officials,” Sail said in his affidavit, adding that Gosavi took Aryan Khan to the NCB office in the white Innova while Sail reached the office by foot.
On reaching the NCB office, Gosavi asked Sail to be a panch witness, after which he was made to sign a blank paper.
In his video statement, Sail said he furtively took some photos and videos of Aryan Khan at the NCB office interacting with Gosavi.
NCB Deputy Director General Jain Sail should have approached court with his claims. “As he is a witness in the case and as 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,” he added.
“In addition there are certain vigilance related allegations against certain persons in the affidavit which are based on overhearing by Mr Prabhakar. Our zonal director, Mumbai zonal unit, Mr Sameer Wankhede has categorically denied these allegations,” he said.
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‘Told to go to Tardeo and collect Rs 50 lakh in cash’
After Gosavi’s alleged meeting with Dadlani in the blue Mercedes, he and Sail went to Mantralaya, the state secretariat, where Gosavi “spoke to someone”, the affidavit says.
In his video statement, Sail said Gosavi spoke to Sam who said, “Woh Pooja Dadlani mera phone nahi utha rahi hai (That Pooja Dadlani is not taking my calls).”
Gosavi and Sail then allegedly went to the former’s Vashi residence, where Gosavi told the latter to take the white Innova to Tardeo and collect Rs 50 lakh cash. The nature or purpose of this transaction is not made clear in the affidavit or the statement.
In his affidavit, Sail said, he reached the spot and someone who arrived in a white car gave him two bags of cash, which he carried to Vashi and handed over to Gosavi, who seemed to be packing to leave somewhere.
The affidavit further says that, the next day, Gosavi gave Sail a location to pick up the cash from him and hand it over to Sam who told him to come near Trident Hotel.
“I handed over the bag of cash to him in his car Innova Crysta. However, when he counted the cash it was only 38 lacs I left from there and I left to Vashi,” Sail said in the affidavit.
In Sail’s video statement, he said Sam questioned him about the amount being Rs 12 lakh short and Sail asked him to take it up with Gosavi.
Shiv Sena, Congress slam NCB
Shiv Sena Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Raut Sunday tweeted a video that Sail allegedly took while inside the NCB office. In the video, Gosavi can purportedly be seen asking Aryan Khan to speak to someone on the mobile phone.
Witnes in #AryanKhan case made to sign on blank paper by NCB is shocking. Also thr r reports that thr ws demnd of huge money .CM UddhavThackeray said tht ths cases r made 2 defame Mah'shtra.Ths seems 2b comng tru @Dwalsepatil
Police shd tk suo moto cognizance@CMOMaharashtra pic.twitter.com/zipBcZiRSm
— Sanjay Raut (@rautsanjay61) October 24, 2021
Maharashtra Congress spokesperson Atul Londhe said, “Prabhakar Sail has given an affidavit, a video and also given a chronology of how they met at Yellow Gate (close to Green Gate) with Sameer Wankhede, how they left there, ate frankies. Through CCTVs it can be verified. Union government is using central agencies to defame rivals. Democracy is in danger because of this and if officials too are benefiting from it then it is very serious. The Maharashtra government should inquire into this with its own machinery.”
(Edited by Sunanda Ranjan)
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