Sameer Wankhede, the officer of the anti-drugs agency Narcotics Control Bureau has been in the spotlight ever since his team busted the alleged drugs party on the Goa bound Cordelia Cruise ship and arrested Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan’s son Aryan Khan. After Maharashtra minister, Nawab Malik meted out allegations against the NCB zonal director, his wife has now lashed out on Twitter at a Bollywood website for spreading malicious and misleading news to malign the image of the officer and his family.
Kranti Redkar Wankhede, a Marathi actress by profession and Sameer Wankhede’s wife has today shared a clipping of a news article published by the Bollywood website Koimoi.com on October 6, 2021, and accused it of giving it a misleading headline to cast aspersions and spoil her or her husband’s reputation.
It may be noted that the report was published three days after the arrest of Shah Rukh Khan’s son Aryan Khan, who was, along with seven others, picked up by an NCB team led by Sameer Wankhede from the Goa-bound Cordelia cruise ship on October 2.
Sharing the screenshot of the headline of the report published by Koimoi.com, Kranti Redkar Wankhede Tweeted: “Dear @Koimoi what r u doing here? just for few views, you have given a misleading title, for what?i hv already fought this case in court n won.I read full report,it says a case of mistaken identity, but then y this title,why?To spoil my reputation or Sameer’s.Just for money?”
Dear @Koimoi what r u doing here? just for few views, you have given a misleading title, for what?i hv already fought this case in court n won.I read full report,it says a case of mistaken identity, but then y this title,why?To spoil my reputation or Sameer’s.Just for money?1/1 pic.twitter.com/j3v5RUZ1SH
— Kranti Redkar Wankhede (@KrantiRedkar) October 22, 2021
In a subsequent Tweet, she wrote: “@Koimoi Not everyone reads the full report. Because of your careless and insensitive write up people come up and troll me. We are real living people with emotions, we r not meant for your juicy consumption.if I was guilty I would hv taken the blame, but I am not So I will not.”
@Koimoi Not everyone reads the full report. Because of your careless and insensitive write up people come up and troll me. We are real living people with emotions, we r not meant for your juicy consumption.if I was guilty I would hv taken the blame, but I am not So I will not.
— Kranti Redkar Wankhede (@KrantiRedkar) October 22, 2021
It may be noted that the report by Koimoi.com mentions in the body of the article that: “Kranti Redkar was accused of being a part of IPL spot-fixing controversy. It was back in 2013 when S Sreesanth came under the radar too. Later, it was termed as a case of ‘mistaken identity.’ However, as pointed out by the Marathi actress, the headline was tweaked in such a way that it appears that Kranti Redkar is guilty of match-fixing. The archive version of the report can be viewed here.
The fact, however, is that NCB director Sameer Wankhede’s wife Kranti Redkar Wankhede’s name was dragged into a match-fixing controversy in the year 2013. It’s the same controversy that led to the arrest of the Indian former cricketer S Sreesanth. Redkar was later confirmed to be the victim of mistaken identity. Despite the fact that she had no role in spot-fixing, she had faced a lot of backlash on social media and defamation.
While one cannot say that the headline was completely fake news, since she was at one time accused of IPL fixing, however, it was designed to tarnish her image since it did not mention that it was a case of mistaken identity.
It may be noted, that despite the Marathi actors Tweets, the Bollywood website koimoi.com, has until now, not tendered an apology or explanation for posting a report that has tarnished the actor’s reputation.
As mentioned earlier, NCB director Sameer Wankhede, who took over the drugs case after the death of actor Sushant Singh Rajput in June, has recently attracted a lot of attention as a result of the high-profile Aryan Khan case. Following the raid, there have been allegations that Wankhede is selectively targeting Aryan Khan. Many have dredged up his personal and family life to malign his reputation.
NCP Minister Nawab Malik targets NCB director Sameer Wankhede
Recently, Nawab Malik of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) alleged that Sameer Wankhede was in the Maldives during the pandemic when many Bollywood celebrities were vacationing there as well. He alleged that ‘vasuli’ (extortion) took place in Maldives and Dubai and said he even has photographs to establish the same.
In response, Sameer Wankhede said: “The minister is saying wrong things. It is an absolute lie. I went to the Maldives with my children for a vacation. I took proper permission from the competent authority for the same. I didn’t meet anyone and I don’t want to give any further clarification on these kinds of accusations. In December, I was in Mumbai, at the time when he said I was in Dubai. This can be investigated.”
Wankhede added: “My family is continuously being attacked — from my sister to my father. This is only because I am fighting for the truth and against drug activity. I will take appropriate legal action as the minister has levelled many wrong accusations. I will take legal recourse. We have a justice system, I will take their help after taking permission from my seniors.”
He had confirmed that he will be sending a legal notice to NCP leader and Maharashtra minister Nawab Malik for levelling allegations against him in connection to the Mumbai cruise drugs case.
On October 11, Sameer Wankhede had also lodged a complaint with the Maharashtra police where he said that he was being subjected to illegal surveillance. According to reports, NCB officials had taken this matter to senior officials of the Mumbai police and lodged a complaint about being followed by the Mumbai police officials.
