NCB witness in Aryan Khan’s arrest case who alleged Rs 25-cr extortion against Sameer Wankhede dies

News Network
April 2, 2022

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In a shocking development, Prabhakar Sail, a panch witness in the drugs-on-cruise case involving the Narcotics Control Bureau raid on Cordelia cruise liner, died of a suspected heart attack on Friday evening.

The case pertains to a drug bust in which a total of 20 persons were arrested in the intervening hours of October 2 and 3, 2021. Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan’s son Aryan Khan was also arrested in connection with the case from the cruise liner. 

Sail, in his early forties, died at his residence in Mahul of Chembur. 

Sail was the personal bodyguard of independent witness KP Gosavi, who claims to be a private detective and is currently behind bars. Gosavi's selfie with Aryan Khan led to a furore. Initially, it appeared that Gosavi was an officer, however, later NCB denied it and revealed that he was a witness. 

Prabhakar Sail’s allegation

In October last year, Sail stunned everyone by alleging the exchange of a huge volume of money involving officers from the Narcotics Control Bureau including its Zonal Director Sameer Wankhede. 

Sail, in his affidavit, had alleged that he heard Gosavi speak with one Sam D’Souza about one Rs. 18 crore deal of which Rs. 8 crore was meant to be paid to NCB Zonal Director Sameer Wankhede. According to Sail’s affidavit, he was present in the car when Gosavi spoke to D’Souza.

Sail had alleged that Gosavi held a meeting with D’Souza and Shah Rukh Khan’s manager, Pooja Dadlani in a car the same evening. Sail had gone on to add that he received the cash from Gosavi and personally delivered it to D’Souza.

Sail, one of the nine witnesses whose names were later released by the NCB, had said that he feared for his life after Gosavi went missing. This, according to him, was the reason why he decided to file an affidavit.

The affidavit had read, “On 1st October 2021, at about 9.45 PM, he (Gosavi) called me and said that I should be ready by 7.30 AM and that he has left. On 2nd October 2021, at about 7.35 Kiran Gosavi called me and said that he had transferred Rs. 500 to my gpay account and told me that he is sending me a location on WhatsApp and told me to come to that location.”

“I reached CST station at 8.45 PM and when I saw the location at WhatsApp, it was shown as NCB office. I reached there by taxi and saw white Innova car MH-12 GJ-3000 parked opposite NCB office, I asked the driver Vijay Suryavanshi as to where is KP Gosavi. He told me that KP Gosavi is in NCB office and he is in a meeting with NCB officials.”

He had continued, “I was with the driver at about 10 AM. Kiran Gosavi called the driver and came down with NCB officer for NCB office. Kiran Gosavi and the said officer left in the said Innova and instructed me to wait there itself. (sic)

“At about 10.30 pm I was called (by) KP Gosavi in the boarding area and I saw Aryan Khan in one of the cabins at the cruise boarding area. I saw one girl, Munmun Dhamecha and few others with NCB officials.”

“Till such time we reached Lower Parel KP Gosavi was talking to Sam on the phone and stated that you put a bomb of 25 crores and let’s settle at 18 final because we have to give 8 crores to Sameer Wankhede,” Sail had concluded.

Wankhede had denied allegations made by Sail.

The Mumbai Police later formed a four-member team to investigate sensational claims made by NCB witness Prabhaakr Sail. It was only after Sail’s claims that the NCB was forced to remove Sameer Wankhede from the case’s investigation.

Interestingly, Maharashtra Minister Nawab Malik had also accused Wankhede of indulging in extortion as he raised questions on the latter’s mysterious trips to the Maldives and Dubai in the past.

Malik was later arrested by another central government agency, the Enforcement Directorate.

Aryan Khan was arrested with seven others from a Goa-bound cruise ship by the NCB. He had to spend nearly a month in Mumbai’s Arthur Road jail until the Bombay High Court granted him bail.

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News Network
March 16,2024

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Budget carrier Air India Express has launched a new fare family, offering travelers the option to save on flight tickets by traveling light, with an increased baggage allowance of up to 40kg or no check-in luggage at all.

The new fare categories, applicable to flights to and from the UAE and other international destinations, are:

•    Xpress Lite
•    Xpress Value
•    Xpress Flex
•    Xpress Biz

Xpress Lite offers cabin baggage-only fares, making it the most economical option for passengers traveling with the airline.

Xpress Value fare includes 15 kg check-in bag fares, while Xpress Flex offers unlimited changes with no change fees. Xpress Biz features business class seats, complimentary meals, and priority services.

A subsidiary of Air India and a part of Tata Group, the airline introduced Xpress Lite on February 20 for UAE passengers who prefer traveling without check-in baggage.

Xpress Biz fares are accessible on all the new Air India Express Boeing 737-8 aircraft. Travelers can benefit from increased baggage allowances of 25kg for domestic flights and 40kg for international flights when booking Xpress Biz fares. This fare offers priority check-in, baggage, and boarding services.

Air India Express is already operating aircraft with Biz seats across 70-plus routes in India.

In a previous interview with a news channel Aloke Singh, managing director of Air India Express, stated that the carrier was looking to increase capacity to the Gulf region, including the UAE, as well as to provide better connectivity to Gulf travelers.
 

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News Network
March 28,2024

New Delhi: After India summoned an American diplomat over their remarks on the arrest of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal in the liquor policy case, the US reiterated on Wednesday its call for "fair, transparent, timely legal processes".

We continue to follow these actions closely, including the arrest of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, said US State Department Spokesperson Matthew Miller while responding to questions on India summoning Gloria Berbena, the US Acting Deputy Chief of Mission in New Delhi.

The meeting at the foreign ministry's South Block office lasted nearly 40 minutes yesterday with India objecting strongly to the US remarks on the arrest of Mr Kejriwal.

Miller also responded to a question on the Congress party's frozen bank accounts, saying, "We are also aware of the Congress party's allegations that tax authorities have frozen some of their bank accounts in a manner that will make it challenging to effectively campaign in the upcoming elections."

He said the US encourages "fair, transparent and timely legal processes" for each of these issues.

"With respect to your first question, I'm not going to talk about any private diplomatic conversations, but of course, what we have said publicly is what I just said from here, that we encourage fair, transparent, timely legal processes. We don't think anyone should object to that," he said.

Mr Kejriwal was arrested last week by the Enforcement Directorate (ED), the third Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader after Manish Sisodia and Sanjay Singh to be taken into custody in connection with the alleged liquor policy scam.

The US State Department on Tuesday said it is monitoring reports of Mr Kejriwal's arrest and called on New Delhi to ensure "a fair and timely legal process" for the jailed Chief Minister.

India objected to it and warned of "unhealthy precedents".

"States are expected to be respectful of the sovereignty and internal affairs of others, and this responsibility is even more so in case of fellow democracies. It could otherwise end up setting unhealthy precedents," the foreign ministry said.

"India's legal processes are based on an independent judiciary which is committed to objective and timely outcomes. Casting aspersions on that is unwarranted," the ministry stressed.

The US remarks came days after Germany's Foreign Office stressed that Mr Kejriwal is entitled to a fair and impartial trial. The Indian government had reacted strongly and summoned the German envoy, labelling their remark "blatant interference in internal matters".

The excise policy was introduced to bring an overhaul to the liquor business in Delhi, but was scrapped after Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena ordered a probe into the alleged irregularities in the policy. The ED believes the bribe money from the policy was allegedly used for funding the AAP's election campaigns. It has also called Mr Kejriwal a "conspirator" in the case.

His arrest just ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha election has also prompted furious protests from the opposition camp.

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News Network
March 19,2024

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New Delhi, Mar 19: The Supreme Court today came down heavily on Patanjali Ayurved for failing to respond to a contempt notice for issuing misleading advertisements and ordered yoga guru Ramdev to appear before it.

A bench of Justices Hima Kohli and Ahsanuddin Amanullah also summoned Patanjali managing director Acharya Balkrishna.

The Supreme Court last month pulled up Patanjali for prima facie violation of its assurances about its products and statements claiming their medicinal efficacy. The court had issued a notice to Patanjali and Balkrishna, asking why contempt proceedings should not be initiated against them.

It noted today that Patanjali did not file a response even though it had held a press conference after its previous order. "Why haven't you filed your response yet? We will ask the managing director to appear in the court during the next hearing," the court said.

The order states both Ramdev and Balakrishna were prima facie in violation of Sections 3 and 4 of the Drugs and Remedies Act, which deal with misleading ads of medicines.

The court also issued a contempt notice to Ramdev, co-founder of Patanjali, and asked him to explain why he should not face action for contempt of court.

Senior lawyer Mukul Rohatgi, appearing for Patanjali Ayurved, opposed the move and sought to know, "How Ramdev comes into the picture?"

"You are appearing. We will see on the next date. Enough," the court replied.

"We had our hands tied earlier but not now. As an officer of the court, you (Mr Rohatgi) should know your position," said Justice Amanullah.

The court was hearing a petition by the Indian Medical Association (IMA) alleging a smear campaign by Ramdev against the vaccination drive and modern medicines.

On February 27, it had issued a contempt notice to Patanjali and cautioned them against from making any statements against any system of medicine in the media. It had also pulled up the centre for not taking action and said they were sitting with their eyes closed.

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