An independent witness in the drugs-on-cruise case in Mumbai, in which the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) had arrested Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan's son Aryan Khan, will appear before the NCB today. Prabhakar Sail, who claims to be the bodyguard of NCB witness K.P. Gosavi, had last month stated in an affidavit that he had heard Gosavi discussing a Rs 25 crore pay-off deal after Aryan was arrested by the NCB. Sail claimed that Gosavi had said that Rs 8 crore of the deal money was to be given to NCB Mumbai zonal director Sameer Wankhede.
The move comes immediately after fresh allegations from the opposition and other witnesses of attempts pf bribery and pay-off in the case.
The fresh allegations
Maharashtra minister Nawab Malik on Sunday had alleged that Wankhede was part of a plot to "kidnap" Aryan. Speaking to reporters, Malik claimed BJP leader Mohit Kamboj was the "mastermind" of the plot. "Aryan Khan didn't purchase the ticket for the cruise party. It was Pratik Gaba and Amir Furniturewala who brought him there," claimed Malik, reported ANI. "It is a matter of kidnapping and ransom."
At the same time, a Mumbai-based businessman named Vijay Pagare told Marathi news channels that Aryan was "framed" in the bust, and implicated by some people to make money. "It was a pre-planned raid," he said, further claiming that he knew the people involved in this episode, including an NCB witness whose selfie with Aryan had gone vial. Pagare told Times of India: “I have reasons to believe that the raid was pre-planned and Aryan Khan was framed in the drug case. The entire strategy was finalised on September 27, while the cruise ship was raided on October 2."
-Inputs from agencies
