Cordelia drug case: CBI calls Sameer Wankhede for statement today

MUMBAI/DELHI: The CBI has summoned Indian Revenue Service officer Sameer Wankhede, who has been booked for corruption, to record his statement on Thursday in connection with the Cordelia drugs bust case.
In a related development, Wankhede, former Mumbai zonal director of the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB), got temporary relief from the Delhi high court as it gave him time till May 22 to move "appropriate forum" against the case registered by the CBI.
The HC, however, made it clear that no relief can be granted on other issues raised in the plea by Wankhede where he also sought a cross-FIR against deputy DG of NCB Gyaneshwar Singh, claiming that the allegations by NCB against him are "false and misleading".
Meanwhile, British national Karan Sajnani, who was arrested in January 2021 along with former minister Nawab Malik's son-in-law Sameer Khan in a narcotics case, alleged that an investigating officer working under Wankhede had stolen his Rolex wristwatch worth Rs 30 lakh during the search of his house.
CBI cites jurisdiction to oppose Wankhede's plea
British national Karan Sajnani has alleged that his Rolex watch worth Rs 30 lakh was stolen by an officer of former Mumbai zonal director of the Narcotic Control Bureau (NCB) Sameer Wankhede's team during a search operation at his house in 2021.
"The watch was never mentioned in the recovered items. My case is sub judice and I will not comment on it. I have no complaints against the NCB, but against Wankhede and his team," Sajnani said. "I suffered a lot because of Wankhede and I will be the happiest person to see him facing action for his illegal actions."
Sajnani was arrested by Wankhede and his team following the alleged seizure of around 125kg of imported marijuana. Sajnani, however, claimed that the seized drug was only 7.5gm of marijuana while the rest was flavoured tobacco.
Wankhede was not available for comment.
The CBI, in its FIR against Wankhede who has been booked for corruption in connection with the cruise drug bu-st case, has raised questions about him procuring expensive watches and his foreign trips. But there was no direct mention of the Rolex watch.
In the Delhi high court hearing, the counsel for CBI opposed Wankhede's plea and objected over the issue of jurisdiction. The agency said such a petition can't be filed in Delhi as the subject matter is of Maharashtra and after registering the case, all documents have been forwarded to its Mumbai office. When the court began recording the CBI lawyer's statement that the agency will not do anything till May 22 for Wankhede to move the Bombay high court, the counsel pointed out that the CBI official was in court and if Wankhede wrote an email, he would be asked to join the probe on Monday. The Delhi HC then disposed of the petition without going into the merits of the plea.
The CBI has filed the FIR against Wankhede, two officers Ashish Ranjan and dismissed superintendent Vishwa Vijay Singh and two private persons for allegedly seeking Rs 25 crore bribe for not framing actor Shah Rukh Khan's son Aryan in the cruise drug bust case.
The CBI also raised suspicion over the NCB preparing an internal "information note" in which "the names of certain accused were included subsequently through modification to suit the proceedings". The initial note contained 27 names and in subsequent modification it was reduced to 10, the CBI's FIR said.