Sameer Wankhede, who was involved in the arrest of Aryan Khan back in 2021, recently spoke about facing bullying from fan clubs on social media. In 2021, Shah Rukh Khan’s son, Aryan, was arrested by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) in connection with an alleged drugs racket. Sameer was the Zonal Director of the Narcotics Control Bureau at that time.
In a conversation with Lucky Bisht, Sameer was asked about how “rich people have invested lakhs in fan clubs on social media that manipulate the narrative, tricking the public into believing that the nation is with them” and why the cyber cell isn’t taking action against such fan clubs. Without taking any names, Sameer responded, “There is an IT act for this and there have been some cases also, but this is a very new act. Social media platforms are evolving and so is the law. According to me, I think it’s high time that we identify these things and take action according to the law.”
Sameer Wankhede further spoke about how the targeting by fan clubs can affect people and their mental health badly. He said, “I have gone through this. Not many people knew about this but now they are talking about it and I am very happy about it. They don’t know any boundaries, they will say nasty things about women and children without any kind of limitation. I have gone through this and it had made me stronger but not everyone can take it. They can go in depression.”
Talking about how one person dominates the narrative through his/her fan clubs, Sameer said, “The public also will have to see the news with caution. During Hitler’s time, Joseph Goebbels would propagate false news and he only devised this mechanism that you lie so many times that people start believing it to be the truth and this happens a lot of times till today. The audience have to judge what is the truth and what is false news.”
Sameera Wankhede also spoke about him and his family needing security. He said, “I am a trained sniper shooter. I don’t need to do drama. I am qualified enough to protect myself and my family. However, when I live in Chennai, then I worry about my kids but that is also their fate. I’m not begging for security from anyone, and I am not so helpless to trust anyone.”
Three weeks after his arrest, Aryan Khan got bail on October 28, 2021. In May 2022, he was cleared of all charges.
