In fresh trouble for former director of Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) Sameer Wankhede, the Thane police on Saturday night registered an FIR against him for allegedly giving false information in an affidavit filed to seek liquor shop licence. Three months after Maharashtra minister Nawab Malik went to town alleging that Wankhede was -- in violation of Central Civil Services (CCA) Rules, 1965 – running a liquor bar IN Navi Mumbai which violates DoPT rules, the Kopri police station at Thane booked the NCB’s former director under sections 181 ( false statement), 188 ( disobedience to order duly promulgated by public servant),420 ( cheating), 467,468 and 471 (forgery) of the IPC for providing false information to obtain liquor shop licence.
The police said that the IRS officer had misled the State excise department by submitting a false affidavit about his age in order to obtain the liquor sale licence. While submitting the application for the licence in February 1997, no date was mentioned but the application merely said that Wankhede was an adult. However, the excise department said that Wankhede was not 18 years old at the time and misled the department.
It may be recalled that on November 19, 2021, Malik had alleged that Dnyandev Wankhede, who was working in the State Excise Department earlier had managed to get a permit room licence for his son Sameer Wankhede, when the latter was a minor in 1997-1998.
“As per the law, minors cannot be issued such liquor bar licence. Sameer Wankhede was only around 17 years 10 months old at that time, when he was issued the liquor licence. This was a big fraud perpetrated by his father,” the minister had alleged.
“Sameer Wankhede’s "Sadguru Restro Bar" is located at Vashi in Navi Mumbai. The licence has been continuously renewed, without fail and is currently valid till 2022,” Malik had said.
‘Sameer Wankhede had concealed the information about his owning a liquor bar while joining the central government services. It was only in 2017 that Wankhede declared that he owns the inherited property along with his father, which is a hotel but is on a lease, Malik had alleged.
“At that time, Sameer Wankhede declared that he owned a bequeathed property jointly with his father Dnyandev, where a ‘hotel’ is running from which he gets an annual rental income is Rs. 240,000 for the huge 1,600 sq feet premises and the property was worth just Rs. 1 crore,” Malik had said.
The Maharashtra Minister had also alleged that Sameer Wankhede had clearly flouted central service rules that prohibit any officers from running businesses. “I am filing complaints with the DoPT, Vigilance Commission and the IT Department as he belongs to the IRS cadre.