Most people were shaken to the core when Aryan Khan, Shah Rukh Khan’s oldest child, was arrested for his involvement in a drug investigation back in 2021. This case made the headlines for quite a while and is still much talked about. Aryan had to spend 25 days in jail before he was granted bail, and later all the charges against him were cleared. NCB official Sameer Wankhede was leading the investigation and was behind Aryan’s arrest. Recently, Wankhede opened up about the much-talked-about case, whether he was bribed or not, the scrutiny and trilling he had to face, and much more.
In a recent conversation with NEWJ, Wankhede spoke about how he felt supported by middle-class citizens of the country when he was constantly being mocked and scrutinised for his stance. He said, “I won’t say I was targeted but will say that I have been the most fortunate person because I got a lot of love from people from the middle class, those who aren’t that fortunate. Sometimes I would think that this ordeal is worth it because of all the love I got. They felt that no matter how big someone is, everyone should face the same rules. I don’t have any regrets, I will do the same if given a chance.”
During the interview, when asked if he had leaked the infamous SRK chat asking him to drop Aryan’s case, Wankhede refused to speak about it. He mentioned that he had filed an affidavit that would not permit him to discuss anything related to the chat leak incident or even the case in detail. However, he very clearly clarified that he did not leak the chats and also said that he is not that “weak” that he would have leaked chats.
Talking about whether the chats were leaked just to portray SRK and his son Aryan as victims, Wankhede said, “Whoever did this, I will tell them to try harder.”
Wankhede also went on to deny the rumours of him taking a Rs 25 crore bribe from SRK to dismiss Aryan from jail. He mentioned, “I never released him, I, in fact, caught him. The case is in court and I have trust in our country’s judiciary system.”
CBI in 2023 filed a case against five people including Sameer Wankhede on the grounds of corruption. This case had been filed in relation to Aryan’s 2021 Cordelia cruise drug case.