Caste Committee Clean Chit To NCB Officer Sameer Wankhede, FIR Against Nawab Malik For Defamation Under SC/ST Act

A little less than a year after former Maharashtra Minister Nawab Malik accused Sameer Wankhede, then anti-Narcotics officer, of fraudulently obtaining a scheduled caste certificate despite being a Muslim by birth, the caste committee has given Wankhede a clean chit. The District Caste Certificate Verification Committee declared that Wankhede belonged to SC/ST's Mahar community and there was no proof that he or his father renounced Hinduism for Islam. Soon after, the Mumbai police registered an FIR against Malik on Wankhede's complaint. The FIR is registered under section 500 of the IPC and under relevant sections of the SC/ST Act. There are several pending litigations between Wankhede and Malik, who is incarcerated in a money laundering offence registered by the Enforcement Directorate, a central agency. Sameer Wankhede was heading the NCB's Zonal Unit when during the Cruise Ship Drug Bust in which Aryan Khan was arrested in October, 2021. The Case was transferred to an SIT in Delhi after allegations of corruption surfaced against Wankhede. Before the caste committee Malik and two others - Manoj Sansare, Ashok Kamble - alleged that Sameer Wankhede, submitted false documents to secure a job as an IRS officer in SC quota after clearing the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) examination. Malik cited Wankhede's birth certificate signed by his mother (now deceased) showing he is a Muslim and his father's name is Dawood Wankhede. He also cited a letter by BMC from November, 2021 stating that Wankhede is Muslim by birth and that his father submitted a declaration that he is Dnyandeo not Dawood in 1993. However, no change was made to the religion of Sameer Wankhede in the birth certificate. Moreover, Sameer Wankhede's sister – Yasmeen's - birth certificate also shows she is born Muslim as does her school leaving certificate. Sameer Wankhede's first marriage invitation card, which mentions his name as Sameer Dawood Wankhede. Wankhede on the other hand challenged Malik's locus to file the complaint. Wankhede alleged that Malik had raked up his caste issue only because his team had arrested Sameer Khan, Malik's son-in-law in a drug case. Khan was released last year itself. In a ninety-one-page order chairperson Anita Meshram-Wankhede, Member Secretary Sunita Mate and member Salima Tadvi said, "It has been clearly established that Wankhede and his father belong to the Scheduled Caste, Mahar-37 as per the schedule. Complaints filed by Malik, Sansare and Kamble regarding the caste claim of Wankhede and his religion, are not substantiated. As a result, the complaints are rejected due to lack of facts." The committee held that Wankhede is not a Muslim by birth and the Executive Magistrate and Collector were competent authorities to issue caste certificates in 1995 and 2008.

Caste Committee Clean Chit To NCB Officer Sameer Wankhede, FIR Against Nawab Malik For Defamation Under SC/ST Act

Sharmeen Hakim

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