‘Not a Muslim by birth’: Ex-NCB officer Wankhede gets clean-chit in fake caste certificate case

Mumbai, Aug 13: Former Mumbai zonal director of the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) Sameer Wankhede has got a clean chit by the Social Justice Department of the Maharashtra government, which noted that he was not a Muslim by birth, in connection with the case certificate case

He was facing allegations of forging a caste certificate to get a government job.

The order was issued by the Social Justice Department of the Maharashtra government on Friday, an official informed PTI. The order says that Wankhede, an Indian Revenue Service (IRS) officer, was not a Muslim by birth and it has been proven that he belongs to Mahar caste, which is a Scheduled Caste (SC).

Former Maharashtra minister and NCP leader Nawab Malik had raked up the issue of Wankhede's caste and applications were filed by the complainants, including political leader Manoj Sansare, Ashok Kamble and Sanjay Kamble, against Wankhede.

Mumbai district caste certificate verification committee examined the complaints and passed an order on the same on Friday. The order says that it was not proven that Wankhede and his father Dnyandev Wankhede renounced Hinduism and duly converted to Islam.

It is proven that Wankhede and his father in law belong to the Scheduled Caste that is Mahar-37, the order stated. Complaints filed by Nawab Malik and others regarding the caste claim of Wankhede and regarding the religion of the caste certificate are not substantiated, following which complaints are being rejected due to lack of the facts in the complaint, the order said.

Wankhede came to the spotlight after he raided following the high-profile October, 2021 raids by the NCB on a Mumbai cruise after which the agency had arrested Aryan Khan, son of actor Shah Rukh Khan, and 19 others and claimed to have seized some narcotics too. The NCB had later given a clean chit to Aryan Khan.

In May, Wankhede was transferred to the Directorate General of Tax Payer Services (DGTS), Chennai as additional commissioner.