Mumbai, Oct. 24 (IANS): Sparking off a major controversy, a witness in the cruise ship rave party raid case on Sunday accused the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) of allegedly demanding bribes from Bollywood megastar Shah Rukh Khan to release his son Aryan Khan.
The witness, Prabhakar Sail, openly stated on various TV channels that he feared a threat to his life from none other than the NCB Zonal Director Sameer Wankhede.
The NCB has taken cognisance of the allegations of threats and bribes and a top official said that the matter will be probed.
Sail, identified as the personal bodyguard of the so-called private detective Kiran P. Gosavi, has released a signed affidavit statement and videos pertaining to the arrest of Aryan Khan and others on October 3, a day after the ship raid (October 2).
One of the 9 witnesses listed by the NCB, among other things, Sail claimed that he was made to sign 10 blank papers by the agency and now feared for his life from Wankhede.
In the affidavit, Sail has contended that he "overheard" Gosavi and Sam D'Souza discuss a deal of INR 24 crore which they "settled" for INR 18 crore, of which INR 8 crore would got to Wankhede.
He said that he saw SRK's manager, Pooja Dadlani arrive at the NCB office after Aryan Khan's arrest and also witnessed her talking with Gosavi and D'Souza inside her vehicle.
Sail alleged that Gosavi directed him to collect INR 50 lakh cash from a spot near the Indiana Hotel and asked him to give the bags to D'Souza near the Trident Hotel where he counted it to find INR 38 lakh cash.
Reacting to the allegations, NCB Deputy Director-General, South West Region Mutha Ashok Jain said that Wankhede has "categorically denied" the allegations.
"As some of the contents of the affidavit relate to vigilance matters, I am hereby forwarding the affidavit to the Director General, NCB and requesting him for further necessary action," Jain said.
Simultaneously, chiding Sail, Jain said that since he is a witness in the case which is now sub-judice, "he needs to submit his prayer to the honourable court rather than through social media if he has anything to say".
He also said that Sail has given details about his movements and activities on October 2 (on the day of the ship raid), and "vigilance related allegations against certain persons in the affidavit which are based on overhearing" by the witness.
In the affidavit, Sail stated that Gosavi is missing and feared that the NCB officials or other people may abduct or kill him.
Gosavi, who is facing several cases, shot to focus earlier this month when Nationalist Congress Party national spokesperson and Maharashtra Minister Nawab Malik made a series of exposes involving him (Gosavi) and other BJP-linked persons like Manish Bhanushali, in the NCB raids.
However, the BJP and NCB have rejected the charges by Malik, who has threatened to reveal more.