In connection with the corruption and extortion case filed against IRS Officer Sameer Wankhede, former Zonal Director of Mumbai NCB (Narcotics Control Bureau), and others, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has recorded the testimony of another suspect, known as Ashish Ranjan Prasad.
At the time, Ashish Ranjan Prasad, the accused, worked for the NCB as an intelligence officer. There are a total of five accused in the case, including Wankhede and Prasad.
Sources claim that Prasad was questioned about the presence of more witnesses during the raids at the NCB office on October 2, 2021, and at the Cruise terminal on October 2, 2021, including Kiran Gosavi, Manish Bhanushali, and Prabhakar Sail.
According to sources, Prasad said to CBI agents that he was unaware of Gosavi, Prabhakar Sail, and Bhanushali.
Before the raids, he claimed he had never met them.
When Prasad asked the three witnesses in question about their identities at the terminal, they said that they were patch witnesses, according to what Prasad later reported to the CBI. Prasad added that Wankhede had concurred.
When questioned afterwards, Wankhede asserted that he was unaware of the witnesses.
In an interview with India Today in October 2021, one of the witnesses, Manish Bhanushali, said that he had information about the narcotics raid that he had sent along to NCB authorities.
Before being detained by Pune police, Kiran Gosavi had previously told India Today that he had met VV Singh, the primary investigating officer in the drugs case involving Cordelia Cruise. He added that he later ran into Wankhede.
Aryan Khan was in Gosavi’s photo at the NCB headquarters, which went viral on social media a few days later.
Gosavi was the same official who had invited Shahrukh Khan’s manager Pooja Dadalani to the NCB office.
A demand for Rs 25 crore was made to Dadlani in exchange for the release of Aryan Khan, according to a FIR in the case.
Reports said, Dadlani gave Rs 50 lakh to Gosavi and another the accused, Sam Dsouza.
A portion of the abovementioned amount was reportedly refunded to Dadlani after Aryan Khan was eventually arrested, according to Dsouza.
According to a Bombay High Court judgement, Sameer Wankhede is currently protected from the CBI taking any coercive action against him in the matter till the next date of hearing.
Ashish Ranjan Prasad has also submitted a plea in connection with the matter asking for protection from arrest.
On July 24, the Delhi High Court will hear his case.
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