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“The dust of controversy is merely the falsehood flying off” – Thomas Carlyle
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INTRODUCTION
These days internet or social media handles are all about a name that was not so in the limelight before the recent raid on Goa Cruise ship, yes Sameer Wankhede it is. Other than Aryan Khan, Sameer Wankhede, the zonal head of the Narcotics Control Bureau, is another guy in the spotlight and under examination in the Goa Cruise Ship Drug bust case. Since the narcotics bust aboard the cruise liner Cordelia on October 3, Sameer Wankhede has been making headlines for a variety of reasons. He is now facing significant bribery charges after a witness for the Narcotics Control Bureau said that the NCB ordered him to sign blank papers in connection with a narcotics case in Mumbai involving Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan's son Aryan Khan. In this blog, I would further point out more about Mr Wankhede and its follow up. [1]
BACKGROUND
Sameer Wankhede is a 2008 batch Indian Revenue Service IRS officer from Maharashtra. His initial assignment after joining the IRS was at Mumbai's Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport. Wankhede is a decorated officer who has served as the Air Intelligence Unit's deputy commissioner (AIU).
He was dispatched to Andhra Pradesh and subsequently to Delhi in connection with the case because of his competence and sharpness in work. Sameer is regarded as an expert in the field of medicines and drugs. [2].
When Sameer Wankhede was working in the Customs department in 2011, he made sure that the Cricket World Cup trophy was only released at the Mumbai airport after the Customs tax was paid. The trophy was of gold.[3]
Later, he was sent to Mumbai Airport as an associate commissioner of Customs. Wankhede was handed to the Maharashtra Service Tax department in 2010 and charged 2,500 persons with tax evasion, including 200 celebrities. Mika Singh, a musician, was arrested with foreign cash at the Mumbai airport in 2013. In August 2020, he was given a six-month loan to the NCB, which was investigating the Sushant Singh Rajput drug case. In 2021, he received the 'Home Minister's Medal' for outstanding performance. Following the cruise ship cocaine bust case, his stay at NCB was extended for another six months. From Sushant Singh Rajput's death to the current drug problem in Bollywood. Hemp has been discovered in the residences of various celebrities. Drugs were recently discovered at the home of Bharti Singh and her spouse Harsh Limbachia, the Laughter Queen. In Mumbai's Goregaon district, NCB officer Sameer Wankhede and some other NCB personnel were attacked by a mob of 50 or more people. [4]
CONTEMPORARY ISSUES
Sameer Wankhede is now facing significant bribery charges after a witness for the Narcotics Control Bureau said that the NCB ordered him to sign blank papers in connection with a narcotics case in Mumbai involving Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan's son Aryan Khan. Prabhakar Sail (40), the driver of a purported private investigator who went missing after a selfie with Aryan went public, claimed to be Gosavi's personal bodyguard. NCB Zonal Director Sameer Wankhede and others, according to Sail, requested a Rs 25 crore pay-off from Shah Rukh Khan in exchange for the release of his son Aryan Khan. A top NCB official, on the other hand, disputed the charges, calling them "totally untrue and vicious." Sameer Wankhede grabbed his signature on 8 to ten blank documents when creating the witnesses in this case, according to Sail. [5]
FURTHER FOLLOW Ups
Sameer Wankhede approaches Court: Wankhede filed an extortion complaint in a special court on Monday in response to claims of extortion levelled against them in the cruise narcotics seizure case. Two affidavits were filed one by Narcotics Control Bureau and the other by Wankhede himself. In their affidavits, the anti-drugs agency and Wankhede claimed that this was an attempt to stymie the inquiry into the case. In its affidavit, the NCB requested that no evidence or inquiry be tampered with, while Wankhede denied the claims levelled against him. Wankhede also wrote to Mumbai Police Commissioner Hemant Nagrale on Sunday, requesting protection against legal action "being prepared" against him by unknown parties in connection with an alleged vigilance-related matter. Wankhede, an IRS officer from the 2008 batch, said in his letter to Nagrale that threats of incarceration and dismissal had been made against him on public media by highly respected public officials. [6]
CONCLUSION
Following his meeting with Narcotics Control Bureau Mumbai zone director Sameer Wankhede on Saturday, National Commission for Scheduled Castes vice-chairman Arun Halder stated that he believes Sameer Wankhede is a Scheduled Caste member. "Any accusation of religious conversion has been refuted by him," the spokesman added. On Friday, the commission requested a response from the Maharashtra government over Wankhede's letter alleging harassment. "Whereas the National Commission of Scheduled Castes has received a complaint/information from Shri Sameer Dyandev Wankhede dated 26.10.2021 as enclosed and the Commission has decided to investigate/enquire into the matter in pursuance of the powers conferred upon it by Article 338 of the Constitution of India," the letter stated. The commission wanted to know if any FIRs had been filed in the case. "Within 7 days of receipt of this notification, you are expected to submit an action taken report to the undersigned by fax/post/email... or in person," the letter stated. [7]
REFERENCES
[1] INDIA TIMES, https://www.indiatimes.com/news/india/sameer-wankhede-aryan-khan-drug-bust-case-552493.html, (last visited date 30th October 2021).
[2] AREAL NEWS, https://arealnews.com/sameer-wankhede-wiki/, (last visited date 30th October 2021).
[3] INDIA TODAY, https://www.indiatoday.in/india/story/sameer-wankhedencb-mumbai-cruise-drug-case-ssr-death-nawab-malik-aryan-khan-1868872- 2021-10-24, (last visited date 30th October 2021).
[4] supra note 1.
[5] supra note 1.
[6] supra note 1.
[7] HINDUSTAN TIMES, https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/i-thinkhe-is-from-a-scheduled-caste-wankhede-gets-support-from-sc-commission101635599626298.html, (last visted 31st October 2021