In 2021, Shah Rukh Khan’s son, Aryan Khan, was arrested by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) along with six others in connection with an alleged drugs racket. The Zonal Director of the Narcotics Control Bureau at that time, Sameer Wankhede, was handling the case. In a recent interview, Wankhede shared how he dealt with troll armies during the controversy that ensued, and reacted to allegations that Aryan didn’t have any drugs on him at the time of his arrest.
Wankhede was heavily trolled online following Aryan’s arrest. When asked if these attacks took a toll on him and his family, he said in an interview with Zoom Entertainment, “Trolling is entertainment for me. I have faced much worse: bullets, terrorists. These are very small things. Threatening messages are quite funny.”
Wankhede said that many have also praised him for “holding the land of the law equal for all” and that’s all that matters. To his trolls, he said, “Try harder.”
Following Aryan’s arrest and subsequent bail, SRK made a pointed effort to avoid the media. It was speculated that he was bitter about how the arrest was covered in the news. Asked to comment about this change in SRK’s attitude, Wankhede said that he has not been following the actor or his actions. “I have no clue what he has been doing.”
Indirectly, however, he commented on Aryan allegedly being drunk at a New Year’s party. A video of Aryan and his friends was circulated widely online. Asked about the video, Wankhede said, “I would not like to comment on this person, but, if you talk about 31st, youngsters today think New Year’s eve is meant to get sloshed. No doubt, people should enjoy, but don’t harm your body.”
SRK recently shared that he quit smoking. When asked if the drugs case had perhaps prompted him to take this decision, a disinterested Wankhede bluntly ignored the question and said: “I would not want to comment on ‘XYZ person’.”
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In 2023, Shah Rukh Khan made his comeback with the action films Pathaan and Jawaan. A line in the latter film – “bete ko haath lagane se pehle, baap se baat kar” – was interpreted by fans as a comment on Wankhede. When asked if he thought so too, Wankhede said, “A lot of people said it was aimed at me but, I don’t think so. I am not that important for them to include me in their movies. If at all it is about me, I would like to take it as a compliment. And as far as the words in the dialogue are concerned, it is third-grade and not part of our Indian culture.”
Wankhede was also asked why he arrested Aryan even though he allegedly “didn’t find any drugs on him”. He shared, “I am not speculating anything about this case. But, one thing that people need to understand is that when a drug is being manufactured, there might a supplier and also a consumer for the same. If a police officer catches hold of someone involved in the process, is it presumed that the person who has supplied drug to the consumer should not be arrested? Obviously, there won’t be drugs with them, because they have already delivered it to the concerned party.”
Wankhede was also asked if there was any truth to the reports of Aryan telling him, “Tu janta nahi mera baap kaun hai?” Wankhede replied, “I wouldn’t like to comment on such things. It is all submitted in the court. If at all, in some other case, anybody used such language with me, they will be strongly dealt with by law. Such language don’t work with me.”
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