Case against Wankhede: Key was SRK manager’s testimony

According to the NCB probe, while the initial extortion demand was Rs 25 crore, the deal was settled at Rs 18 crore, and Rs 50 lakh was handed over as token amount.

Earlier, Dadlani — one of the main links in what transpired in the early hours of October 3, 2021 — had ignored at least three summons by the Mumbai Police to record her statement. The police probe against Wankhede then had to be closed.

“The vigilance team contacted her in the first half of last year, following which her statement was recorded in connection with the extortion charges. Apart from her, we have recorded the statements of K P Gosavi, Sanvile D’Souza and Prabhakar Sail (witnesses),” said a key official involved in the probe.

While the source refused to divulge what Dadlani said in her statement, he said that based on all the statements, they concluded that an attempt was made to extort money from Shah Rukh Khan and asked the CBI to probe the matter.

Last week, the CBI registered an FIR against Wankhede and four others for the alleged extortion attempt. “The CBI team probing the FIR will likely record her statement again and we are hopeful she will cooperate with them as well,” said the source.

Dadlani did not respond to calls and messages from The Indian Express.

“In addition to detailed statements of everyone involved, the inquiry also relied on CCTV footage provided by Mumbai Police of various spots mentioned in the statements, based on which the version of events could be verified,” said the source.

According to the source, Sail, who died in April 2022, stood by his statement that on the night of the raid, he overheard Gosavi telling D’Souza on the phone to demand Rs 25 crore from Shah Rukh Khan to not name Aryan in the case, and eventually settle for Rs 18 crore.

Sail further claimed that Gosavi told D’Souza that of the Rs 18 crore, Rs 8 crore was for Wankhede. Sail and Gosavi allegedly met D’Souza, Dadlani and her husband in Lower Parel at night, where a bag with cash was reportedly handed over to them.

A 2008-batch IRS officer, Wankhede, who then headed the NCB Mumbai zone, had led a team of officers to raid the ship off the Mumbai coast on the night of October 2, 2021. The NCB had claimed to have seized drugs and cash, and arrested 17 people, including Aryan.

Aryan was released on bail by the Bombay High Court 26 days later. Eventually, another NCB team, which investigated the matter, dropped his name from the chargesheet, citing insufficient evidence.