India / NCB's Wankhede submits caste papers for verification after forgery accusations

New Delhi: Narcotics Control Bureau's (NCB) Mumbai zonal officer Sameer Wankhede arrived before the National Commission for Scheduled Castes (NCSC) in New Delhi on Monday to submit his caste documents.

Wankhede hogged the limelight last month after he led a team of NCB officials to raid a luxury cruise ship off Mumbai coast, during Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan's son Aryan Khan and several others were detained, and later arrested, for allegedly possessing drugs. 

Wankhede met NCSC chairperson Vijay Sampla to present his original caste documents to prove that he is a Dalit, officials familiar with the development said.

“He (Wankhede) has come here to present his subject before the commission. We will see and verify his documents," Subhash Ramnath Pardhi, a NCSC member was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.

Meanwhile, Sampla also said that the documents provided by Wankhede will be verified with the Maharashtra government. “If the documents are found to be valid then no one can take action against Wankhede on the basis of such papers,” the NCSC chairperson told reporters.

Speaking to the media after his meeting with Sampla, the NCB officer said, “Whatever facts and documents were asked by the commission have been provided to them today. My complaint will be verified and soon the NCSC chairman will reply on it,” Wankhede was quoted as saying.

Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader and Manharashtra minister Nawab Malik has levelled a series of allegations against Wankhede, including accusations that the NCB officer has forged his caste certificate and other documents to secure a job as an IRS officer under the Scheduled Castes quota after clearing the Union Public Service Commission examination. The minister has also claimed that Wankhede is a Muslim by birth, a charge the NCB officer has refuted.

Meanwhile, the NCB has ordered a vigilance inquiry into the allegations made by a witness in the cruise ship drugs raid case of an extortion bid of ₹ 25 crore by some agency officials, including Wankhede, and others.