NCB Mumbai Zonal Director Sameer Wankhede on Thursday wrote a letter to the National Commission for Scheduled Castes alleging his continuous harassment by Maharashtra government minister and Nationalist Congress Party leader Nawab Malik.
Sameer Wankhede has been facing a barrage of allegations and harassment right after he dared to arrest Aryan Khan, son of Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan in the Cordelia Cruise drugs bust case on October 2.
Interestingly, Malik going personal against Wankhede and hitting below the belt stems from the fact that Wankhede had arrested Sameer Khan, son-in-law of the minister in a separate drugs case earlier in January 2021.
Malik released some documents in the public domain to claim that Wankhede was actually a Muslim who took benefit of reservation for Scheduled Caste to get the coveted job in Indian Revenue Service. Malik released his purported birth certificate and Nikahnama. Malik claimed that on December 7, 2006, when Wankhede was married to Shabana Qureshi his name was mentioned as Sameer Dawood Wankhede in the Nikahnama.
Malik had further alleged Wankhede had tried to extort money from Shah Rukh Khan. He raised suspicions on Maldives visit of the officer and later on shared a letter against Wankhede purportedly written by an NCB officer. Malik has been aimlessly shooting in the hope that some of them might work against Wankhede and he may be withdrawn from the investigation.
The NCB officer writing to the SC Commission has come after he had approached the Bombay High Court for protection. Fearing his arrest by Mumbai police, Wankhede on Thursday had requested that any investigation against him should be conducted only by CBI or NIA, and not by Mumbai Police.
However, the court rejected his petition following an assurance from the Maharashtra government that he will be given three days’ notice before police arrest him in the extortion case.
Earlier on October 27, a complaint was lodged with the Commissioner of Mumbai Police, Home Ministry and National Commission of Scheduled Castes against Nawab Malik under relevant sections of the SC/ST Act, for Obstruction of Justice, misuse & abuse of power to threaten & intimidate NCB officer Mr Sameer Wankhede belonging to SC/ST community.
A complaint has been lodged with CP Mumbai police, MHA & @NCSC_GoI against NCP MLA Nawab Malik as per SC/ST act for “Obstruction of Justice, misuse & abuse of power to threaten & intimidate NCB officer Mr. Sameer Wankhede belonging to SC/ST community” pic.twitter.com/e06aKBdOdK
— LawBeat (@LawBeatInd) October 27, 2021
The complaint was filed by some Dalit activists.
Kranti Redkar Wankhede, the wife Sameer Wankhede writes to Maharashtra Chief Minister
On Thursday, Kranti Redkar Wankhede, the wife of NCB officer Sameer Wankhede, wrote a letter to Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray. She stated that Thackeray’s minister is carrying out an attack on her family and her personal life. Kranti Redkar is a Marathi actress by profession and she was married to Wankhede in 2017. She posted the letter on her Twitter handle and tagged it to the Maharashtra CMO.
माननीय उद्धव ठाकरे साहेब @CMOMaharashtra पत्रास करण की … pic.twitter.com/0VJxURk5oi
— Kranti Redkar Wankhede (@KrantiRedkar) October 28, 2021
“Being a Marathi person, I expect justice from your side since my personal life is unnecessarily dragged into a controversy. Had late Balasaheb Thackeray been alive today, he would not have tolerated any personal attack on a woman’s dignity. The dignity of a woman has become a joke in the regime that draws inspiration from king Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj,” she said.
On Thursday, Kranti Redkar along with her father-in-law Dnyandev Wankhede also met senior Maharashtra BJP leader Kirti Somaiya. “They are disturbed by the Slanderous / Dirty Propaganda by the Minister against their Family Members,” Kirti Somaiya tweeted.
#SameerWankhede ‘s Family Wife #KrantiRedkar
— Kirit Somaiya (@KiritSomaiya) October 28, 2021
Sister #YasmeenWankhede &
Father Dnyandev Wankhede
met Me today late afternoon. They are disturbed by the Slanderous / Dirty Propaganda by the Minister against their Family Members
I strongly condemn such efforts by #NawabMalik pic.twitter.com/ijlKwFz9Ne
Wankhede’s sister writes to National Commission for Women
It seems that the Wankhede family has now pulled up its socks to legally fight the low politics of minister Malik. Wankhede’s sister advocate Yasmeen Wankhede, has approached the National Commission for Women (NCW) and the police against Malik. Yasmeen wrote to the Women Commission requesting to “safeguard her constitutional rights as a woman” as Malik has been violating her privacy. She said that the minister is sharing her pictures from her social media profiles to make baseless allegations against her brother.
We heard a minister called @nawabmallik doesn’t have guts to face my brother , thus he steals my private Instagram pics just to prove what a coward he is !! Less do u know mallikbhai posting unauthorised pics of a woman is a crime-and what do u prove with these pics ? Nothing !!!
— Adv Yasmeen wankhede (@jasmeen23_) October 21, 2021
NCW chairperson Rekha Sharma told ANI that Yasmeen in her letter has said that she is being stalked online and her pictures were downloaded from social media and circulated in the press. She said that the Commission will write to Maharashtra DGP about it.
“Right to privacy is her right and how come anyone circulates her pictures which were taken out without her permission. We will take up this matter on police apathy also,” the NCW chairperson said.
