Former narcotics officer Sameer Wankhede has filed a petition in the Delhi High Court against the Netflix version, The Ba***ds of Bollywood and Shah Rukh Khan because of being a subject of the web series Aryan Khan directed.
The Defamation Suit
Wankhede has asked Shah Rukh Khan and Red Chillies Entertainment, his firm and the producer of The Bads of Bollywood, to compensate him his damages of 2 Crores as he would use the money to fund the treatment of cancer patients in the Tata Memorial Cancer Hospital.
Sameer Wankhede’s Statement
An IRS officer, Sameer Wankhede, filed a statement before the Delhi High Court, stating his aggrievance had been caused by the false, malicious and defamatory video made by Red Chillies and aired by Netflix as part of their TV series titled The Ba***ds of Bollywood, and applied for relief in nature of permanent and mandatory injunction, declaration and damages against Red Chillies Entertainment Pvt Ltd, owned by actor Shah Rukh Khan and Gauri Khan, the OTTs Netflix and others.
The statement said that this series has spread an inaccurate and negative image of anti-drug enforcement agencies and is undermined by giving people low confidence in law enforcing bodies.
What The Series Showed
In the first episode of The Ba excessive of Bollywood, one of the characters, highly based on Sameer Wankhede, finds himself outside a Bollywood party in search of people of Bollywood, who are doing drugs.
Social media has been on an overdrive since the series started streaming on Netflix on September 18, which compares Sameer Wankhede to the sequence in the series.
Wankhede has asserted in his statement that The Ba Bastards of Bollywood has been factored in and carried out with malicious intent and a view to slander the reputation of the colourable and prejudiced nature of Sameer Wankhede.
In the case of Sameer Wankhede and another called Aryan khan, the statement that Wankhede wrote to the media said: “In the case currently pending and before the Hon’ble Bombay High Court and the NDPS Special Court, Mumbai, especially when the case is sub-judice of the Hon’ble Bombay High Court and NDPS Special Court, Mumbai.
Moreover, the series, among other, shows a character giving an obscene gesture, namely, indicating a middle finger after the character recites a slogan Satyamev Jayate that is the portion of the National Emblem. This is a serious and sensitive breach of the provisions of the act Prevention of Insults to National Honour, 1971, which is liable to the punishment of law.
Besides this, the series content is also contravened under the provisions of other acts of Information Technology Act and Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) in the fact that it is aimed at stroking outrage to the national sentiment by using the use of obscene and offensive material.
Why The Dig Against Sameer Wankhede
This is due to the fact that on October 3, 2021, the Narcotics Control Bureau arrested Aryan Khan, Ayaaz Merchant, and Munmun Dhamecha, and accused them of possession, consumption, and sale/purchase of prohibited drugs. It was a day post-raiding of a cruise ship by the NCB that they made the arrest and purported to have found prohibited drugs. The case had seen 20 people being arrested.
The investigation was headed by ex-Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) officer Sameer Wankhede who came in the limelight when he arrested Aryan. Aryan Khan spent twenty-five days in jail before being given bail.
What Sameer Wankhede’s Wife Posted On Instagram 2 Days After The Ba***ds Of Bollywood Release
Even though The Ba***ds Of Bollywood has made Sameer Wankhede re-enter the limelight once again, his wife Kranti Redkar Wankhede has opted to present another side of the ex-NcB cop. Two days following the release of the show, she posted to Instagram of his further work in attempts to generate awareness against drugs.
Upon posting a video on a speech delivered by Sameer Wankhede, Kranti wrote, it is not a topic to be mocked or laugh at as the drug problem is deep. When people will understand that this is a real problem which should not be ignored, maybe it will not be too late. Good work, continue doing so, @swankhede.irs and you have an impact on the society through your efforts. And we all have you so proud of. On weekends, you could be having fun, go on vacation, do other pleasant stuff, instead, you do the Antidrugs awareness lectures and programs. Discussion with the youth, socialising of young minds. You have our support with you and your campaign. #nashamuktbharatcampaign.’
Resurrection of The Aryan Khan Case
The dispute boomerangs back to the Cordelia cruise ship raid in 2021 when Wankhede who is in the NCB at the time, arrested the son of Shah Rukh Khan, Aryan Khan, on October 3. Aryan was incarcerated in jail and spent 25 days after which he was granted with them. Lack of evidence ultimately saw his name appearing off the list of the charges against him at the NCB.
It turned into the tabloid of high-profile cases, and sides of the story had been presented regarding some lapses in procedure, political motives and justice. In May 2023, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) filed an FIR on Wankhede and four others, accusing them of some having demanded a bribe of 25 crore to drop the charges against Aryan.
Although lapses in the preliminary investigation were found by an NCB Special Investigation Team, the case follows Wankhede during his career and reputation.
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