Wankhede and his family followed Islam: NCB officer’s ex-father-in-law

The erstwhile father-in-law of NCB’s Mumbai Zonal Director Sameer Wankhede has claimed the officer “follows all Muslim rituals and offers namaz, even fasts during Ramzaan”.

Wankhede, an investigating officer in the drugs-on-cruise case in which Shah Rukh Khan’s son Aryan has been arrested, is facing accusations ranging from procedural irregularities to extortion and even forgery of documents.

Maharashtra minister Nawab Malik recently brought out Wankhede’s personal details and claimed that he was a Muslim, but forged documents, including a caste certificate, to show that he belonged to the Hindu SC category to get a job under quota after clearing the UPSC examination.

In this context, Dr Zaheed Quraishi, father of Wankhede’s first wife Shabana, was quoted as saying in media reports that he always knew the Wankhede family to be followers of Islam.

“Sameer Wankhede follows all Muslim rituals and offers namaz, even fasts during Ramzaan. Mrs Wankhede was a pious lady, things changed after her death,” he told PTI.

On the marriage of his daughter, he explained that “in 2006, when Sameer and Shabana got married, Sameer practised Islam and would occasionally visit mosques”.

“We always knew the Wankhede family as followers of Islam. In fact, I always knew Dnyandev as Dawood Wankhede. We agreed to the marriage of my daughter Dr Shabana with Sameer because we had cordial relations with his late mother Zaheeda,” Dr Qureshi said.

According to Malik, the wedding was held according to Islamic rituals and he even posted the nikah-nama on social media. Wankhede refuted the allegation and said that since his mother was a Muslim, the wedding – which lasted just a month – took place according to Islamic rituals.

Also read: Sameer Wankhede goes to court as Nawab Malik raises another charge

Wankhede’s former father-in-law emphasised “I am making it clear that when the marriage between my daughter Shabana and Sameer Wankhede took place, the groom was practising Islam”.

Wankhede recently issued a statement saying his mother was a Muslim, but his father was Hindu and that he belongs to a “multi-cultural” family.

The Maharashtra government has launched an inquiry into allegations made by NCB witness Prabhakar Sail against Wankhede, that he was part of a Rs 25 crore pay-off plan that was hatched for Aryan Khan’s release.

Also read: Sameer Wankhede’s wife writes to CM Thackeray, seeks justice for husband