IRS officer Sameer Wankhede has approached the High Court, requesting an independent investigation into allegations of atrocities made by senior politician Nawab Malik. Wankhede claims the accusations are baseless and motivated, seeking judicial intervention to ensure a fair probe. The case stems from a longstanding feud between the two, with Malik earlier levelling serious charges against Wankhede.
Mumbai: Sameer Wankhede, the former zonal director of the Narcotics Control Bureau, requested the Bombay High Court to transfer the investigation into an atrocities case against NCP leader Nawab Malik to an independent agency, such as the CBI.
Wankhede, who serves as an additional commissioner in the Directorate General of Taxpayer Services and belongs to the Mahar Scheduled Caste, claims in his plea that the police’s failure to act has caused him and his family significant mental distress and humiliation.
In August 2022, Wankhede filed a complaint with the Goregaon police alleging that Malik had made defamatory remarks about him and his family based on their caste during interviews and on social media, in violation of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes Act.
As of now, Malik has not been arrested, and no chargesheet has been filed. In his petition submitted to the High Court on November 20, Wankhede contends that the police have yet to investigate the matter and seeks to have the case transferred to the Central Bureau of Investigation. He also requests that the court monitor the investigation.
The petition expected to be heard on November 28.
Wankhede’s plea states,
“The lackadaisical approach of the police machinery has caused grave injustice to the pain and mental distress suffered by the petitioner and his family members on being humiliated and defamed based on their caste and race.”
It further mentions that in 2021, Wankhede’s father filed a defamation suit against Malik in the High Court, which resulted in a directive for Malik to refrain from making further remarks. Despite this restraining order, the petition claims that Malik continued to make slanderous comments about Wankhede and his family.
It adds,
“The respondent no. 2 wields political power and has therefore influenced the police machinery, tampering with the investigation in this case,”
Wankhede alleges that Malik’s remarks followed the arrest of his son-in-law, Sameer Khan, in a drug case in 2021. He claims that after Khan’s arrest, Malik initiated a campaign to defame and humiliate him and his family on social media and television, targeting their caste and questioning the validity of Wankhede’s caste certificate.
Previously, Wankhede had also lodged a complaint with the Scheduled Caste Commission in October 2021, seeking action against Malik.
Wankhede gained significant attention after his NCB team arrested actor Shah Rukh Khan’s son, Aryan Khan, following an alleged drug seizure on the Cordelia cruise ship in Mumbai in October 2021. Aryan was granted bail by the High Court after three weeks.
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