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Aryan Khan drugs case: Sameer Wankhede’s wife Kranti Redkar writes letter to CM
Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) zonal director Sameer Wankhede’s wife, actress Kranti Redkar, wrote an emotional letter to Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray, seeking justice for him
Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) zonal director Sameer Wankhede’s wife, actress Kranti Redkar, wrote an emotional letter to Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray, seeking justice for him.
Wankhede is battling a series of allegations levelled against him in connection with the drugs case involving actor Shah Rukh Khan’s son Aryan Khan, who was arrested earlier this month following a raid on a Mumbai cruise ship.
In the letter written in Marathi that Kranti Redkar also tweeted, the actress said she was an ardent follower of Chhatrapati Shivaji and Bal Thackeray, and that her image was being tarnished and personal life intruded upon.
“I am a Marathi “mulgi” (Marathi speaking girl). I have grown up following the Shiv Sena, which had been fighting for the rights of the Marathi manoos. Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj and Hinduhruday Samrat Balasaheb Thackeray have been my ideals since childhood... Both of them taught us to neither do injustice to anyone, nor tolerate one. Following their teaching, I have been fighting this battle alone against people… attacking my personal life... On social media, people have been making fun [of me],” she wrote in the letter, as translated from Marathi.
“Had Balasaheb been around today, he wouldn’t have liked it. He would categorically condemn the personal attacks on a woman and her family indicating how politics has stooped so low,” Redkar wrote, urging Uddhav Thackeray to step in and help. “Today, he (Bal Thackeray) is not alive, but you are there… I am sure that you will never allow any injustice to happen to me and my family. As Marathi manoos, I am looking up to you with hope for justice.”
Redkar wrote that she doesn’t want to dive into the politics of the entire episode.
Also Read: Aryan regular consumer of drugs, in touch with peddlers: ASG Anil Singh for NCB
The emotional appeal from Sameer Wankhede’s wife came a day after Maharashtra minister Nawab Malik on Wednesday tweeted purported images of Wankhede’s marriage certificate and wedding photo with his first wife, Shabana Quraishi, arguing that the NCB officer allegedly used fraudulent ways to get a job as an Indian Revenue Service officer under scheduled caste category despite being a Muslim.
The charge has been refuted by Sameer Wankhede and his family members.
On Tuesday, Malik posted a purported image of Wankhede’s birth certificate, in which his father’s name is shown as “Dawood K Wankhede”, while it is “Dnyandev Wankhede” as per the NCB website.
The focus in the drugs case involving Aryan Khan shifted to Wankhede after Malik levelled charges against the NCB zonal director heading the probe in the matter.
Recently, he cited a letter purportedly written by an anonymous employee of the agency alleging that Wankhede framed innocent people in 26 fake drug cases. He also claimed that Wankhede engaged two private persons to tap the phones of the people to frame them.
The NCB on Monday started probing allegations that Sameer Wankhede was part of an alleged ₹25 crore extortion racket after the arrest of Aryan Khan in the drugs case.
A vigilance inquiry was ordered after one of the NCB’s witnesses in the case, Prabhakar Sail, made the claim.
Wankhede’s wife Kranti Redkar, sister Yasmeen and father Dnyandev met Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader and former Member of Parliament Kirit Somaiya on Thursday. “They are disturbed by the slanderous and dirty propaganda by the minister (Nawab Malik) against their family members. I strongly condemn such efforts by Malik,” Somaiya later tweeted.
Meanwhile, the OBC cell of BJP has announced to stage agitation at the party’s Nariman Point office on Friday under the leadership of OBC morcha chief Narendra Gaokar. Party’s vice-president Chitra Wagh too has condemned Malik for revealing personal information of the first wife of Wankhede. “Chief minister Uddhav Thackeray takes action for the remarks on Twitter, but in this case, where a woman is being publicly insulted, he has maintained silence. This has been time and again witnessed in the country that whenever the Congress comes to power Dalits and backwards are targeted,” she said.
On Tuesday, Malik posted Wankhede’s birth certificate, in which, his father’s name is Dawood K Wankhede, while it is Dnyandev Wankhede as per the NCB website. The nikahnama also mentioned Wankhede’s father’s name as Dawood.
Dr Zahid Quraishi, father of Wankhede’s first wife Dr Shabana Quraishi said the Wankhede family was practising Islam when the marriage with his daughter took place in 2006, otherwise, it would not have happened in the first place. Moreover, Wankhede’s mother Zaheda had told him that her husband Dawood Wankhede converted to Islam.
“It was an arranged marriage and we knew the Wankhede family for around four years, prior to the marriage. Each and every member of the family was Muslim at that time. In February 2006, the engagement took place and the nikah was performed after nine months in December, the same year. Before that, we were frequently visiting each other’s residences. Wankhede’s mother was a pious woman and she had told us his father got converted to Islam, after which, his name was changed to Dawood,” Dr Quraishi told TV9 Marathi.
“Whatever certificates his (Sameer Wankhede’s) father (Dnyandev Wankhede) is showing, is prior to his marriage with Zaheda and conversion to Islam. Without converting as a Muslim, their marriage would not have happened under Islamic law. Since both the families were Muslim the nikah was performed. Only after this controversy, we have come to know that they were not Muslim,” he told to ABP Majha.
The focus in the drug case involving Bollywood star Shah Rukh Khan’s son, Aryan Khan, has shifted to Wankhede, with Malik levelling charges against the NCB zonal director, heading the probe in the matter.
