Sameer Wankhede faces action over alleged fake caste certificate
Anti-narcotics officer Sameer Wankhede, who initially investigated the Mumbai drugs-on-cruise case, faces action for allegedly submitting a fake caste certificate and "shoddy investigation" into the drugs case, people with direct knowledge of the matter have said.
"The competent authority has been asked by the government to act against Sameer Wankhede for shoddy investigation. Action will be taken against him for his fake caste certificate," an officer, asking not to be named, said.
Maharashtra Minister Nawab Malik had alleged Mr Wankhede had used fake documents to land a government job, after which the Narcotics Control Bureau, or NCB, officer had last November gave what he claimed was his original caste papers to prove that he is a Dalit to the National Commission for Scheduled Castes.
Mr Wankhede headed the NCB's Mumbai zone and handled initial investigation after an anti-drugs raid on a cruise off the Mumbai coast, a case in which actor Shah Rukh Khan's son Aryan Khan was arrested.
The superstar's son was later released on bail. And today his name has been cleared in the drugs-on-cruise case as the NCB's 6,000-page chargesheet, naming 14 accused, doesn't mention Aryan Khan's name.
"Now that Aryan Khan and 5 others get a clean chit. Will NCB take action against Sameer Wankhede his team and the private army? Or will it shield the culprits?" the office of Nawab Malik tweeted.
Sources today explained five irregularities in the investigation conducted by Mr Wankhede after the drugs raid.
No videography was done during the search operation and there were lapses in analysing the contents of Aryan Khan's phone, since the chats do not link him with the case, the sources said.
No medical test was done to prove consumption of drugs and one witness even turned hostile, telling the special investigation team that he was made to sign on blank papers, the sources said, adding two more witnesses told the investigation team that they weren't at the location at the time of the NCB raid.
Another serious lapse was the clubbing of all the accused and invoking the same charges against everyone, even when Aryan Khan was found without drugs, the sources said.