NEW DELHI: A bitter (and personal) feud has erupted between a senior politician and an NCB official on the sidelines of the high-profile drug bust which led to the arrest of Shah Rukh Khan’s son Aryan Khan.
Incidentally, the quarrel is centered around two Sameers.
The gist
Senior NCP leader Nawab Malik has been relentlessly targeting Narcotics Control Bureau’s zonal director Sameer Wankhede, who is leading the probe against Aryan Khan and others following a cruise raid which led to the recovery of drugs.
Since Aryan’s arrest, Malik has questioned NCB’s every move, made bitter remarks against Wankhede and even dragged his family members into the matter. On his part, Wankhede has countered Malik at every step and accused him of trying to settle personal scores through the case.
The son-in-law angle
Wankhede claims he is being personally targeted by Malik, whom he referred to as “a well-known political figure”.
He said the only reason he can fathom is that the NCB had arrested “this person’s son-in-law Sameer Khan” (in a separate drugs case in which is out on bail).
Notably, Malik’s offensive against Wankhede started only after his son-in-law Sameer Khan was released on bail.
The minister had claimed that NCB officials booked Sameer Khan under wrong charges and no banned drug was found in his possession.
Malik, who is also the NCP spokesperson, has also recently claimed that his government will soon put Wankhede behind the bars.
Sameer Khan was arrested on January 13 this year by NCB for alleged possession of drugs. He was granted bail by a special court late last month, just days before Aryan Khan was arrested in a separate drugs case.
The NCB had charged Sameer Khan and five others for dealing with commercial quantities of the drug, a crime that carries a maximum punishment of 20 years.
Attacks & counters
Malik’s attack against NCB and Wankhede began shortly after the agency arrested Aryan Khan after the cruise raid off Mumbai.
Immediately after the episode, Malik questioned the involvement of some “non-NCB officials” in the drugs bust, saying that BJP leader Manish Bhanushali and “private detective” Kiran P Gosavi were seen dragging out the accused.
He later called the entire operation “fake” and said no drugs were found on the ship.
Then, he said that NCB let off a BJP leader’s brother-in-law after the raid, a claim denied by the saffron party.
The attacks progressively grew more personal, with Malik directly targeting Wankhede.
Here are some of them …
‘NCB witness Wankhede’s family friend’
Nationalist Congress Party spokesperson and Maharashtra minister Nawab Malik on Saturday asked why the NCB’s zonal director Sameer Wankhede used a “family friend” as an independent witness in three investigations.
He demanded to know the connection between Wankhede and one of the ‘panchas’ or independent witnesses used by the anti-drugs agency.
“Independent witnesses which are present at crime scenes should have no prior connection to the investigation agency. But this particular witness had been seen in pictures with Wankhede’s family members in the past,” the NCP leader alleged.
‘Forged birth certificate; his middle name is Dawood’
Malik claimed that Wankhede is a Muslim by birth and had forged his birth certificate to hide his identity.
Malik tweeted a photo of the purported certificate, saying “Sameer Dawood Wankhede ka yahan se shuru hua furjiwada. (Sameer Dawood Wankhede’s document forging started from here).”
The NCP leader also alleged that by “hiding” his religion, he (Wankhede) obtained fake documents and through this, the right of a backward class candidate was snatched.
‘Wankhede a bogus officer’
Later, Malik dubbed Wankhede as “bogus” and asserted that once “proof” against him is out, he can not remain in government service for even one day.
“We have all the proof about how bogus he (Wankhede) is. His father was bogus, he himself is bogus and his family members are bogus. After proving his bogusness, he can not remain in service for one day and he’s going to jail is confirmed and we will bring out all the proof,” he said.
‘Was brought in after Sushant’s death’
Malik also claimed that the IRS officer was specifically brought in to the agency by the central government after the death of actor Sushant Singh Rajput last year.
Malik also alleged that Rajput’s girlfriend Rhea Chakraborty was implicated in a “fake case” by the NCB.
‘Special 26’
In his latest attack, Malik accused Wankhede of illegal phone tapping and announced that he will hand over a letter on the official’s ‘misdeeds’ to the agency head.

“Sameer Wankhede through two persons in Mumbai and Thane is illegally intercepting the mobile phones of some people,” said Malik, who has been targeting Wankhede after his son-in-law’s arrest.
Malik also claimed that Wankhede had sought the call detail record (CDR) of his family member from the police.
He also said that he will release “Special 26” soon, apparently alluding to another expose about the NCB.
Wankhedes hit back
The NCB officer has countered all allegations levelled against him by Malik, saying he is pained by the nature of personal defamatory and slanderous attacks by the minister without any justification.
On Monday, Wankhede told a special court in Mumbai that he and his family have been targeted.
“My family including my sister and deceased mother are being targeted,” the NCB zonal director told the court.
Sameer Wankhede also denied Malik’s allegations of forging documents, including his birth certificate. He said his father’s name is Dnyandev, who was an excise official.
“My wife died six years ago. She had once prepared an affidavit in which it is mentioned that my name is Dnyandev Wankhede. I even have a valid caste certificate with me. And not just me, even my relatives have similar documents to establish it,” the Wankhede senior claimed.
Wankhede’s father also clarified that his name is Dnyandev and not Dawood as claimed by Malik and slammed the NCP leader of playing “low-level” politics.
Speaking to a regional news channel, the Wankhede senior said, “It is an absolute lie that my name is Dawood Wankhede. I think there is some malafide intention of Malik behind releasing that birth certificate of Sameer Wankhede and defaming us. My name is Dnyandev Wankhede since my birth and it is still the same”.

Wankhede’s wife, Kranti Redkar, too responded to the claims, saying she and her husband are born Hindus and have never converted to any other religion.
She said Sameer Wankhede’s deceased mother was a Muslim and his father is a Hindu.
(With inputs from agencies)