The Bombay High Court on Thursday directed the city police to show the details of the probe and the case diary pertaining to a case lodged by the former zonal director of the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) giants NCP leader Nawab Malik under the Atrocities Act.
Wankhede, an Additional Commissioner in the Directorate General of Taxpayer Services (DGTS) and a member of the Mahar Scheduled Caste, had approached the HC last week seeking that the case be either transferred to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) or monitored by the court.
A bench of Justices Revati Mohite Dere and Prithviraj Chavan directed for the concerned police officer from the Goregaon police station to remain present in the court on the next date of hearing along with the case diary. The court has asked the officer concerned to apprise it about the details of the investigation in two weeks.
About The Case
In the petition, filed through advocate Sana Khan, Wankhede has alleged that the police’s inaction in the matter has caused him and his family significant mental distress and humiliation.
Wankhede’s counsel Rajiv Chavan argued that although Wankhede registered an FIR on August 14, 2022, with the Goregaon police station against Malik, the latter has neither been arrested in the case nor has the chargesheet been filed in the case to date.
During his stint with the NCB, Wankhede came into the spotlight after arresting actor Shah Rukh Khan’s son, Aryan, in the 2021 Cordelia Cruise drug bust case. Back then, he had also arrested Malik’s son-in-law Sameer Khan in 2021.
The officer has alleged that after Sameer’s arrest, Malik launched a sustained campaign to defame and humiliate him and his family on social media and television, targeting their caste and questioning the authenticity of his caste certificate.
Despite a restraining order issued by the High Court in a separate defamation suit prohibiting Malik from making defamatory remarks, Wankhede claimed that he continued to violate the order, including questioning the validity of his caste certificate as recently as on October 27, 2024. The officer had earlier filed a complaint with the Scheduled Caste Commission in October 2021, seeking action against Malik. A caste scrutiny committee has since upheld the authenticity of Wankhede’s certificate in a detailed 91-page report.
He pointed out that critical provisions under the SC/ST Act have yet to be added to the FIR despite multiple reminders to the Goregaon police. “Malik with his muscle and money power, and influence is controlling the police machinery and continues to commit further offence,” read Wankhede’s petition filed through Advocate Sana Khan. Justifying the charge, the plea said that the accused is openly giving interviews to various media platforms and wandering freely despite having no protective order.
Wankhede seeks the court’s direction to transfer the investigation to an independent agency or the CBI, ensure the addition of necessary provisions under the SC/ST Act and order the submission of a detailed report on the investigation’s progress. He also alleged that a similar FIR, filed by his cousin, Sanjay, has faced the same lack of action.
