Witness claims NCB officials & others demanded Rs. 25 crores from Shah Rukh Khan to release son Aryan Khan

An independent witness in the cruise drugs seizure case on Sunday claimed that an official of the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) and some other persons demanded Rs 25 crore from Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan to release his son Aryan Khan in the case.

Prabhakar Sail, a witness in the case, told mediapersons that NCB officials also asked him to sign nine to ten blank papers.

However, an NCB official denied the allegations, terming them as "completely false and malicious".

NCB's zonal director Sameer Wankhede earlier this month led the agency's 'drug bust' on a cruise ship following which Aryan Khan was arrested on October 3. He is currently lodged in the Arthur Road jail here.

Recently, the Pune police issued a lookout circular against K P Gosavi, another independent witness of the NCB in the cruise drugs case who used to offer people jobs abroad, in a 2018 cheating case.

On Sunday, Sail alleged that an official of the NCB, Gosavi and another person, named Sam D'Souza, had demanded Rs 25 crore from Shah Rukh Khan to release his son.

Sail, who is the personal bodyguard of Gosavi and accompanied him on the night of the raid, said after Aryan Khan was brought to the NCB office, Gosavi met D'Souza.

Sail claimed he heard Gosavi telling D'Souza over phone about a demand of Rs 25 crore and to settle at Rs 18 crore as they "have to give Rs eight crore to Sameer Wankhede".

Meanwhile, Maharashtra minister and NCP spokesman Nawab Malik, who has repeatedly termed the cruise drugs bust case as "fake", said Sail's claims were "very serious" and demanded a probe into it by a Special Investigation Team (SIT).

Talking to reporters in Beed, Malik reiterated his allegation that Wankhede was involved in "extortion and terrorising the Mumbai film industry", and said he will meet the chief minister and home minister on Monday in Mumbai seeking a SIT probe into Sail's claims.

Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut in a tweet said, "Witness in AryanKhan case made to sign on blank paper by NCB is shocking. Also there are reports that there was demnd of huge money. CM UddhavThackeray said that these cases are made to defame Maharashtra. This seems to be coming true. Police should take suo moto cognizance."

Maharashtra Congress spokesman Atul Londhe said Sail's allegation substantiated the party's charge that central agencies were being against the opposition parties. He demanded that the Supreme Court take appropriate action against the misuse of agencies politically.