National News
Cordelia Drugs Case: Sameer Wankhede Alleges Ex-Boss, Gyaneshwar Singh Of Torturing Witnesses To Implicate Him

The blame game between IRS officer and former Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) zonal director Sameer Wankhede and his former senior Gyaneshwar Singh, based on whose complaint the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) had registered an alleged corruption and extortion FIR against the former, has intensified, with Wankhede accusing Singh of threatening and torturing people to implicate him.
Wankhede came into the limelight after arresting actor Shah Rukh Khan’s son Aryan Khan in an alleged drug bust case on the cruise ship Cordelia Cruises in October 2021. He has approached the Bombay high court seeking quashing of the FIR registered against him by the CBI.
The affidavit
In a surrejoinder affidavit filed by Wankhede before the high court, he has submitted three audio clips, currently in the custody of the CBI, in which conversations reveal how Singh allegedly tortured witnesses and how one of the witnesses, Viral Rajan, purportedly told him as early as October 2022 that Shah Rukh Khan had revealed that a Delhi team would be re-investigating the entire Cordelia drug case.
Wankhede has alleged that Gyaneshwar Singh had threatened and tortured his family friend, Viral Rajan, from whom Wankhede’s wife, Kranti Redkar, had purchased expensive watches. The Wankhedes had vacationed with Rajan’s family in the Maldives.
His affidavit alleges that Gyaneshwar Singh threatened with abusive language, physically constrained and forced Rajan to implicate Wankhede. “However, when Mr Viral Rajan refused to do so, he was threatened with harm to his life and limb. A fake medical test was undertaken taken of Mr Viral Rajan, his nails were picked and a medical blood test has been done, which has been manipulated to threaten and pressurise him. Further, Mr Viral Rajan was also illegally detained in a lock-up to exert pressure to implicate me. Mr Viral Rajan was also threatened with the falsifying and tarnishing of his image in front of the media,” read Wankhede’s affidavit.
The IRS officer has further claimed that Rajan informed him on October 2, 2022, that actor Shah Rukh Khan had told him that a special Delhi team would re-investigate the entire Cordelia episode. This shows that the investigation initiated by the CBI, based on the NCB’s complaint approved by Singh, was with the ‘intention of vendetta’, in ‘retaliation’ for the complaint filed by Wankhede with the National Commission for the Scheduled Castes in September 2022 and to please Shah Rukh Khan.
Wankhede has also alleged that witnesses who were questioned during the inquiry were also threatened to make false statements. He has attached the transcript of the recording of a witness, Vijay Pratap Singh, who is also named as an accused by the NCB’s special enquiry team (SET) from Delhi, wherein he has said that he (Vijay Pratap Singh) accompanied prime witness Samville D’Souza and that D’Souza was beaten up to give ‘false testimony’, to name Wankhede.
“Samville D’Souza was a crucial person in the entire investigation conducted by the SET and the manner in which the witnesses were being questioned about me by means of coercion, threat and physical attack makes it evident how the entire enquiry and Mr Gyaneshwar Singh has been against me with mala fide intentions,” adds Wankhede’s affidavit.
Interestingly, Wankhede has submitted a transcript of the recording with one of the defence advocates, where he has said how his client was forced by the Delhi SET to give a statement that no recovery was made in the drug bust case registered by the IRS officer.
The press note
Wankhede has also reproduced the press note issued by the Gyaneshwar Singh, on behalf of the NCB on October 6, 2021, after the raid on the Cordelia and justified the action. Singh had then observed that the “seizure memos were drawn as per the provisions established by the law” and had named the independent witnesses, including Kiran Gosavi, who clicked a selfie with Aryan Khan.
The press note, Wankhede observes, had specifically mentioned that a total of 17 persons, including a foreigner, were arrested. “Various drugs like Ecstasy, Mephedrone, Hydroponic Weed @ Multi strain Cannabis & Charas etc have been recovered, including few commercial quantities of drugs, which is a serious concern. Continuous drug recoveries in the follow-up operations indicate towards the large network in this drug menace spoiling the younger generation. Investigation of the case is in progress to unearth the entire chain and network,” Singh’s press note had said.
Justifying Aryan Khan’s arrest, Wankhede has claimed that in all, there were five officers who conducted the seizures, including Ashish Rajan. The SET is focused on Ashish Rajan, since he recovered contraband from Aryan’s friend, Arbaaz Merchant, who was allegedly carrying charas for the actor’s son.
Wankhede has refuted the allegations made by Prabhakar Sail, Kiran Gosavi’s bodyguard, that a deal was brokered between Shah Rukh Khan and an NCB officer, to pay money for not arresting Aryan. Accordingly, Shah Rukh Khan’s manager Pooja Dadlani had paid Rs 50 lakh, which was collected by Sail. Sail’s statement is based on “hearsay evidence and does not give any direct evidence against me,” Wankhede’s affidavit says.
The IRS officer has said that his chats with his senior officer show that the charges which were allegedly ”thrust” on him regarding the “selective arrest of Aryan Khan” was raised by the SET and the same is pending before the Central Administrative Tribunal.” In the said chats, it becomes clear that the arrest (of Aryan Khan) was made in consultation with four superior officers, including the DG (Director General), DDG (Deputy Director general) and also the learned public prosecutor,” Wankhede has said in his affidavit.
Further, the affidavit reads: “Surprisingly, the stand of Mr Gyaneshwar Singh changed completely when he became the SET chairperson, to investigate the complaint and allegations against me, violating the basic principles of law, thereby being a judge in his own actions and covering up his own tracks and his own commissions and omissions at the cost of making false, frivolous and baseless allegations on me.”
Regarding the chats with Shah Rukh Khan, Wankhede said that by no means would any father have discussed such topics, including ethics, integrity, and national service with a person who has extorted money from him, Wankhede has said. “It is only a figment of imagination and of malice and personal vendetta of Mr Gyaneshwar Singh against me, which led to such ill-conceived conclusion to misguide the CBI and register a false FIR against me,” it adds.
National News
Bomb Threat Email To Jaipur’s Palace School Sparks Massive Police Search; Cyber Team Tracing Origin

Jaipur: A late-night bomb threat email sent to The Palace School in Jaipur’s Manak Chowk police station area triggered a major security operation on Wednesday morning. The school administration alerted the police early Wednesday after discovering the threatening message in their inbox.
Following the report, senior police officials, along with the Bomb Disposal Squad, Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS), and dog squad, rushed to the school premises. A full-scale search operation has been underway since morning to ensure the safety of students and staff. The mail threatens explosion in classrooms and toilet, said police.
According to officials, the email claimed that two TNT IEDs had been planted in the classrooms and toilet area of classes 4 to 7, threatening that they would explode by 1.45 p.m. The message instructed the school to evacuate all children before that time.
Speaking on the matter, DCP North Karan Sharma confirmed that a thorough search is being conducted and all necessary protocols are being followed. “All agencies have been deployed, and we are checking every corner of the school,” he said. The Cyber Cell has started investigating the source of the email.
“The Jaipur Police cyber team has joined the investigation and is actively working to trace the origin of the threatening email. The team is examining the IP address from which the mail was sent. The threat is being taken very seriously,” DCP Sharma added.
This is not the first time The Palace School has received such a threat. A similar email had been sent earlier, which also led to a security sweep. However, nothing suspicious was found during that previous incident.
Despite the history of false threats, police say they are treating the current situation with utmost caution. Every possible angle is being investigated, and a security perimeter has been established around the school. Students were not present at the school at the time of the threat, as it was received during the night.
National News
Rajasthan: Four Killed And Four Injured In Tragic Head-On Collision Between Car And Dumper On Kota-Udaipur Highway

Jaipur: At least four people were killed in a road accident and four others were injured on the Kota-Udaipur highway in Rajasthan’s Bundi district early Wednesday morning, said officials
The collision occurred near the Baba Ramdev temple in the Dabi police station area of Bundi district at around 5 a.m. According to preliminary information, a dumper and a car collided head-on with significant impact.
The car, carrying eight people, was en route from Beawar to Rajsamand, reportedly arranged by contractor Hemraj.
The accident took place just 5 km before the Dhaneshwar toll plaza.
An ambulance was dispatched immediately after the highway control room alerted emergency services. Upon reaching the scene, rescue personnel found all eight car occupants injured. The victims were first rushed to the Community Health Centre (CHC) in Dabi, according to the officials here.
Tragically, one person was declared dead on arrival. The remaining injured were referred to Kota’s Medical College Hospital for further treatment.
At the hospital in Kota, three more victims, including a woman, succumbed to their injuries during treatment.
The four surviving victims continue to receive medical care, with one of them being a one-and-a-half-year-old child.
Police officials confirmed the details, stating that the accident occurred in front of the Baba Ramdev temple, not far from the Dhaneshwar toll. The officials added that the deceased’s bodies were kept in the mortuary, and post-mortem procedures would be conducted once their families arrive.
The crash caused a stir in the area, briefly disrupting traffic on the highway.
Authorities are investigating the exact cause of the collision and whether negligence or overspeeding was involved.
The tragic accident again gives lessons that travellers should be extra careful during early morning hours when visibility is low and fatigue often plays a role, said the officials.
National News
‘They Are Stealing Votes’: Congress Leader Rahul Gandhi Targets BJP, Election Commission In Bihar Rally

Nawada (Bihar): Reiterating his “vote theft” allegations on Election Commission of India and Bharatiya Janata Party, Lok Sabha LoP Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday said that the poll body and BJP are together running a “partnership”.
Rahul Gandhi was addressing the gathering during his Voter Adhikaar Yatra in Nawada and alleged that PM Narendra Modi, Union Minister Amit Shah and ECI of snatching the fundamental rights from the people.
Congress Leader Rahul Gandhi’s Statement
“There are lakhs of people in Bihar who voted and their names were deleted from the voter list. There is a partnership going on between the Election Commission and the BJP. They are together stealing votes. This is your right and the Constitution gives you this. You fight for this, work hard and Narendra Modi, Amit Shah and the Election Commission are snatching it from you. I, Tejashwi and the rest of the leaders here are standing up and telling them that we will not let you steal even a single vote of Bihar,” Rahul Gandhi said while addressing the gathering.
The Congress MP further targeted the ECI and BJP stating that they “magically” created 1 crore new voters in Maharashtra. He further said that new voters were added in Maharashtra after Lok Sabha 2024 elections which resulted in BJP’s win in the state assembly polls.
“Maharashtra, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, these are the places they have stolen from. In Maharashtra, they magically create 1 crore new voters after the Lok Sabha elections. We win the Lok Sabha and after the new voters come, BJP wins. We asked the Election Commission who these people are but they don’t answer. We asked them (ECI) to show the videography, they said we won’t show it. They changed the law and now a new way of voter theft is being done in Bihar, Sir, they are stealing in a new way in front of your and the country’s eyes. We won’t let them steal,” the Congress MP said.
Meanwhile, on Tuesday Rahul Gandhi continued his Voter Adhikar Yatra in Bihar against the Special Intensive Revision and his “vote theft” allegations on ECI.
RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav and CPI-M leader Dipankar Bhattacharya are accompanying Rahul Gandhi.
The INDIA bloc on Tuesday intensified its protest against the “vote theft” allegations on Election Commision of India and Special Intensive Revision in Bihar outside the parliament building.
The protests saw the presence of prominent leaders including Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge, MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and others. Meanwhile, on Sunday, the Election Commission of India (ECI) addressed a press conference giving it’s clarification over the “vote theft” allegations and SIR in Bihar. It also asked Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi to submit a signed affidavit with proof of his claims of election rigging.
The opposition parties have been protesting against the revision of voter lists since the commencement of the Parliament monsoon session on July 21, with the treasury benches accusing the Opposition of disrupting Parliament proceedings. Calling the ongoing exercise as ‘Silent Invisible Rigging’ of votes, INDIA bloc leaders held banners calling for the stop of ‘Vote chori.’ Notably, Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju called on Congress and other opposition parties to refrain from creating disruptions in Parliament over issues related to the Election Commission. Rijiju, while speaking at a press conference, stated that any disputes between the Election Commission and political parties should be discussed directly with the EC, and not in the Parliament.
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