After making a barrage of allegations against Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) zonal director Sameer Wankhede, Maharashtra Minister and NCP leader Nawab Malik on Wednesday, 27 October, shared photos of Wankhede's 'nikah' on Twitter, accusing him of forging caste certificate.
Malik tweeted a purported marriage photo of Wankhede, with the caption saying that "the fraud started here."
In another tweet later, he also shared what he called was the 'Nikah Nama' of the first marriage of 'Sameer Dawood Wankhede.'
Wankhede, however, has since denied the charges saying that the minister is 'breaching his privacy.'
Later, Malik stressed, "Birth certificate or 'nikah nama' which I tweeted, if they prove me wrong, I will quit politics, resign from my post. I am not asking him (Sameer Wankhede) to resign, but he will lose his job as per law", ANI quoted him as saying.
This came a day after Malik, on Tuesday, shared an anonymous letter apparently from an NCB official, claiming that Wankhede violated rules and framed people in false cases to extort money.
‘I Am a Hindu From Birth’: Sameer Wankhede
Responding to the allegations, Wankhede told reporters on Wednesday afternoon, "I am a Hindu from birth and I come from a Dalit family. I am a Hindu today also. I have never undergone any sort of religious conversion. India is a secular nation and I am proud of it", NDTV reported.
He further explained, "My father is a Hindu and my mother was a Muslim. I love them both. My mother wanted me to follow Muslim customs for my marriage. But the same month, I got my marriage registered under the Special Marriage Act... because when people from two different religions get married, the marriage is registered under this Act."
The NCB officer added that they later got divorced legally and reasoned that if he has converted to another religion, Nawab Malik should show the certificate—a proof.
If he does, Wankhede said, then his father will show the marriage certificate under the Special Marriage Act.
Question Raised on the Entire Institution: Nawab Malik
Malik, after releasing the contents of the letter in a tweet, wrote, "I am sending this letter to Director General Narcotics, requesting him to include this letter in the investigation being conducted on NCB's Sameer Wankhede. We demand there should be a probe."
On Wednesday, the anti-drugs agency denied probing the letter, which was sent to NCB Director General SN Pradhan and said, “No action will be initiated on the anonymous letter (containing allegations against NCP Mumbai Zonal Director Sameer Wankhede) forwarded by Maharashtra Minister and NCP leader Nawab Malik to Director General of NCB as per guidelines of Central Vigilance Commission,” news agency ANI reported.
Responding to NCB's refusal to take action on the anonymous letter, Malik said, "They (NCB) first said they will intervene, by evening they said since the letter had no signature or name, hence no intervention. But given the allegations in the letter, if you still overlook, it raises questions on the entire institution," ANI reported.
He added, "NCB kept saying it probes on the basis of electronic evidence... I demand the vigilance committee get Call Detail records of Sameer Wankhede, Prabhakar Sail, Kiran Gosavi and Wankhede's driver Mane. If electronic probe is done, everything will be clear."
Malik further asserted, “An FIR has been lodged for almost a year on the basis of which Deepika Padukone, Sara Ali Khan and Shraddha Kapoor were called, but no arrest has been made. We need to pay attention to it and also at the Maldives trip to find out the truth”, ANI reported.
International Drug Mafia King Was Present at the Cruise: Malik
Later on Wednesday, Malik told the press that as per information he received, an international drug mafia king and his girlfriend were present on the cruise.
Malik added, “He has a beard. Everyone from NCB knows who that bearded person is...NCB should look for him too. We feel that he's also friends with Sameer Wankhede.
Five-member Team to Probe Wankhede
Meanwhile, a five-member team from the vigilance section of the Narcotics Control Bureau will visit Mumbai on Wednesday, to probe bribery allegations against Mumbai NCB's Zonal Director Sameer Wankhede, who is spearheading the drugs on cruise ship case, involving Shah Rukh Khan’s son Aryan Khan.
The anti-drugs agency had ordered a vigilance inquiry after bribery allegations were made by a witness in the NCB case against Aryan Khan.
Prabhakar Sail, the witness, alleged in an affidavit that he was asked by Wankhede to sign as panch witness of the drugs case and further claimed that his signature was taken on 10 blank papers.
Sail also alleged that he overheard discussions of a Rs 18 crore deal between KP Gosavi, the alleged private investigator whose selfie with Aryan Khan after his arrest went viral, and one Sam D’Souza.
The witness further asserted that Rs 8 crore from that sum was to be paid to Wankhede.
Aryan Khan, Arbaaz Merchantt, Munmun Dhamecha, and others were arrested by the NCB during a raid on a cruise ship. Aryan Khan’s bail hearing in the Bombay High Court will be resumed on Wednesday.
(With inputs from ANI and NDTV.)
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