NCB zonal director Sameer Wankhede on Monday responded to allegations by Maharashtra cabinet minister Nawab Malik that he had entered the civil services by fraud.
Malik had been levelling allegations against Sameer Wankhede following the arrest of Aryan Khan, son of Bollywood star Shah Rukh Khan.
Malik had shared an image of what appeared to be a birth certificate and tweeted the name "Sameer Dawood Wankhede". Malik also tweeted an image from the first marriage of Sameer Wankhede.
In a statement, Sameer Wankhede said his father, Dnyandev Kachruji Wankhede, was a Hindu and his mother, Zaheeda, was a Muslim. Sameer said "I belong to a composite, multi-religious and secular family in true Indian tradition...".
Referring to his marital history, Sameer Wankhede said he had married Dr Shabana Qureshi in 2006 and they divorced in 2016. He said in 2017, he married Kranti Dinanath Redkar.
Taking aim at Malik, Sameer Wankhede noted, "publishing of my personal documents on Twitter is defamatory in nature and unnecessary invasion of my family privacy. It is intended to malign me, my family, my father and my later mother."
He said the acts by Malik had put him and his family under "tremendous mental and emotional pressure".
Vigilance probe
Meanwhile, the NCB has ordered a vigilance inquiry into the claims made by a witness in the Aryan Khan case of an extortion bid of Rs 25 crore by some agency officials, including Sameer Wankhede, and others.
The inquiry will be conducted by Gyaneshwar Singh, the NCB deputy director general (DDG) of northern region. Singh is also the chief vigilance officer (CVO) of the federal anti-narcotics agency.
Prabhakar Sail, a witness in the cruise ship drugs case, had on Sunday claimed in an affidavit and in subsequent interactions with reporters in Mumbai that Rs 25 crore was demanded by an NCB official and other persons to let off Aryan Khan from this case.
also read
- Lok Sabha polls: MVA seals poll pact in Maharashtra, Congress to contest in 17 seats
- Sitars, tanpuras made in Maharashtra's Miraj town get GI tags
- In big relief for Amravati MP Navneet Kaur Rana, SC sets aside HC verdict cancelling her caste certificate
- Congress expels Sanjay Nirupam for anti-party remarks
- Sanjay Nirupam to leave Congress after party’s disciplinary action?
"We have received the affidavit and a report from our DDG (northwest) based in Mumbai and the NCB director general has taken cognisance of this report. He has marked it to the vigilance section for inquiry. We are a professional organisation and we are open for inquiry against any allegation against our staffers. The inquiry will be transparent and fair," Gyaneshwar Singh told PTI.
Asked if Sameer Wankhede will continue to probe the cruise ship case till this inquiry goes on, Singh said the question was "premature and we will take a call as the inquiry progresses and evidences are gathered."
(With PTI inputs)