Sameer Wankhede decoupled from NCB, told to report to DRI

Sameer Wankhede

Indian Revenue Service officer Sameer Wankhede has been taken off duty from the Narcotics Control Bureau by the Union Ministry of Home Affairs, days after a witness in the Aryan Khan case, headed by him, was accused of extortion and state minister Nawab Malik alleged that the IRS officer had falsified his caste certificate. Wankhede has been directed to report to the director general, Directorate of Revenue Intelligence in New Delhi.

The development comes after Wankhede's tenure as NCB's zonal director ended on December 31, 2021 as well as allegations levelled by Malik that the officer was lobbying with the Centre for an extension. "Sameer Dnyandev Wankhede. IRS (C&CE:2008). Joint Director. DRI Mumbai, attached with Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) under Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) and posted as Zonal Director, NCB, Mumbai Zone vide NCB is now hereby deattached from NCB, with immediate effect. He is Directed to report to The Director General. Directorate of Revenue Intelligence, New Delhi," reads the ministry's order of January 3.

Wankhede was brought to NCB on a "loan" in August 2020, particularly to investigate the drug case following the death of actor Sushant Singh Rajput. Wankhede was later given an extension of six months to continue probing high-profile cases. During this period, the 42-year-old officer arrested many celebrities and questioned Bollywood stars like Sara Ali Khan, Shraddha Kapoor, Deepika Padukone and Rakul Preet Singh based on their WhatsApp chats.

While a team led by Wankhede arrested comedian Bharti Singh and her husband, they also raided actor Arjun Rampal's home. However, nothing came of it and Rampal was given a clean chit. The actor's name was not even mentioned in the charge sheet filed by Wankhede's team. Wankhede landed in a major controversy after the Cordelia cruise raid last October in which he arrested actor Shah Rukh Khan's son Aryan Khan and questioned Ananya Pandey as well. Soon, Maharashtra cabinet minister Nawab Malik alleged that the officer had trapped Aryan using fake witnesses and with the help of people associated with the BJP.

Malik kept making waves with a litany of serious allegations against Wankhede though NCB dismissed the charges. The NCB said Malik was targeting Wankhede as the officer had arrested the minister's son-in-Law Sameer Khan, who spent nearly nine months behind bars, in a drug case. However, granting bail to Khan, the court said there was no evidence of illicit drug trafficking against him. In another explosive allegation, Malik said Wankhede had forged his caste certificate to secure the IRS job under SC quota. This charge led to multiple probes, including a vigilance inquiry by NCB, against Wankhede. A few cases under Wankhede were also taken up by an SIT of NCB..

As part of a probe by the Caste Scrutiny Committee, Wankhede recently said that he was not in possession of his caste validity certificate. Special teams of the Mumbai police are looking into his caste certificate matter and the allegations of extortion against him. Malik also Wankhede had got bar licence when he was 17. Malik has complained to the Director General of Vigilance, saying Wankhede still holds the licence despite being in service. Recently Malik said Wankhede was lobbying with some political figures to get another extension at NCB. However, sources close to Wankhede said that he never sought the extension.

‘Was doing a lot of fake cases'

"The NCB zonal director was doing a lot of fake cases and I have brought this before the public. I have given complaints to various agencies which are probing all angles including his fake caste certificate," said Malik.