Athawale comes out in Wankhede’s support, says Nawab Malik 'conspiring to defame' him

Malik has been targeting Wankhede since he led a raid on a cruise ship off the Mumbai coast during which drugs were allegedly recovered.

Union minister Ramdas Athawale on Sunday extended his support to Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) zonal director Sameer Wankhede, who has been leading the probe in the drugs-on-cruise case in which Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan's son Aryan Khan is also facing trial. Sameer Wankhede has been under attack from Maharashtra minister Nawab Malik, who has levelled several charges against the NCB official.

Athawale comes out in Wankhede’s support, says Nawab Malik defaming him. (ANI)

Athawale, who is also the Republican Party of India (A) president, claimed Nawab Malik was “conspiring to defame” the officer and his family, even as he urged the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) to stop doing so, reported news agency ANI. Recently, Malik accused Wankhede of using forged documents to obtain a government job under the Scheduled Caste (SC) category. According to the Maharashtra minister, Wankhede is a Muslim.

“If he says that Sameer is a Muslim then why is he, a Muslim too, levelling allegations? The Republican Party stands with them. Sameer won't be harmed,” Athawale, the Union minister of state for the ministry of social justice and empowerment, also said responding to the allegations.

Wankhede has been refuting all allegations made by Malik.

Meanwhile, National Commission for Scheduled Castes vice chairperson Arun Halder on Saturday met Sameer Wankhede and said he thinks the NCB official belongs to the Scheduled Caste. "After listening to his complaint, I think he is from a Scheduled Caste. He has denied the allegation of any religious conversion," news agency ANI quoted Halder as saying.

Meanwhile, state social justice minister Dhananjay Munde has said his department can probe if someone objects to the validity of the caste certificate of Sameer Wankhede.

Sameer Wankhede's father Dnyandev Wankhede and his wife Kranti Redkar Wankhede on Sunday met Ramdas Athawale, who is also the minister of state for social, justice and empowerment.

Malik has been targeting Wankhede since he led a raid on a cruise ship off the Mumbai coast during which drugs were allegedly recovered. On Saturday, Nawab Malik alleged that Wankhede formed a "gang" of private individuals who implicated innocent people by planting drugs.