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Sameer Wankhede: NCB scarecrow cooks up Bollywood’s “shraadh”

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 “Lights, Cameras… Raid…!” When the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) Zonal Director Sameer Wankhede planned a rave party raid aboard the Cordelia Cruise luxury ship, one thing was guaranteed — tonnes of publicity, even if the actual drug recovery maybe a few tolas.

For, among those present on the ship on October 2 was Aryan Khan, the son of Bollywood megastar Shah Rukh Khan and producer Gauri, besides a few others from the glam-entertainment world.

Truly, a ‘heady’ ambience for the NCB’s high-profile operation, a first-ever on a luxury cruiser in India, and he effected a big haul of big names, but barely any worthwhile quantity of drugs.

Amid a national furore and international attention, Wankhede zoomed around to catch a total of 20 alleged junkies by their collars and dumping them in the lockup, all the while basking in the reflected glory.

In the past over a year since Wankhede, 42, (IRS 2008), was deputed to the IPS-dominated NCB for the late Sushant Singh Rajput death probe — he jumped head-first with surgical strikes to “uproot the drug citadel in Bollywood and Mumbai”.

Many well-known names like Arjun Rampal, Rhea Chakravorty, Deepika Padukone, Shraddha Kapoor, Rakul Preet Singh, Sara Ali Khan, comedy couple Bharti Singh and Harsh Limbachiya, Armaan Kohli and the latest, Aryan Khan, were trapped in his net, and at one point he even went tantalisingly close to the Karan Johar’s ‘girebaan’ (collar).

Earlier, during his stint at the Mumbai Airport Customs, Wankhede dabbled in his favourite glamour game — cornering/detaining people like Shah Rukh Khan, Anushka Sharma, Katrina Kaif, Ranbir Kapoor, Bipasha Basu, Mika Singh, Minisha Lamba, Vivek Oberoi, Ram Gopal Verma, etc., and once even the 2011 World Cup Cricket Trophy made of gold-silver, which was ‘released’ after the BCCI coughed out the customs duty!

A far cry from the days when the NCB was a ghost, its name rarely heard in public — like the 2001 arrest of actor Fardeen Khan — compared with the daily parade of a charade now, akin to a ‘saas-bahu serial’.

If Wankhede was hoping for a pat or promotion, there was some disappointment — this time suddenly chinks were exposed both in the anti-drug actions and intentions, the NCB’s reputation in tatters — and the hunter became the hunted.

The name dreaded by Bollywood suddenly came under intense scrutiny as the Nationalist Congress Party Minister Nawab Malik single-handedly snooped on the super-sleuth — to hammer hollow the NCB’s credibility.

Like a thirsty bloodhound, the bearded, bespectacled Malik coolly launched a serial expose to prove Wankhede’s actions as ‘farjical’ (fraudulent) strikes — unearthing Bharatiya Janata Party-linked ‘independent witnesses’, his unsavoury friends, a wanted-nabbed criminal, alleged fake caste certificate, religious credentials, etc., that rattled the officer.

As Aryan Khan remained in a vice-like grip for 29 nights, Wankhede spent sleepless nights, ran from one NCB probe to another, knocked the doors of Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, the DGP Sanjay Pandey, Mumbai CoP Hemant Nagrale, the NCSC, the Special NDPS Court and the Bombay High Court.

The Maha Vikas Aghadi government has cried foul at Wankhede’s unceremonial attempts to perform Bollywood’s last rites and exorcise it’s spirit to other glamour-parched locales like Gujarat or Uttar Pradesh.

Some politicians like Shiv Sena’s Kishore Tiwari have accused him of a ‘danga’ targeting film personalities to help perch his wife Kranti Redkar-Wankhede — a Marathi actress — as Bollywood barely beckons.

There are other dubious firsts — how crucial ‘witnesses’ are bared in public glare which can seriously hamper the NCB’s usually covert and sensitive operations with global ramifications henceforth, the unprecedented witness allegations of extortion bids with Wankhede’s name tossed, or the accusations and probes he faces now from various quarters.

As is common knowledge, the real ‘drug bunkers’ are not in Bollywood, but on the outskirts of Mumbai and the NCB’s overzealous James Bonds could take up the tough challenge instead of ‘boo-ing’ soft targets in the glamour-industry.

A grim Malik has warned of more aces up his ‘kurta’ sleeve, vowing that “picture abhi baaki hai”, will end only after Wankhede’s sack and jail.

With many BJP leaders openly supporting him, only time will tell if Wankhede is a political puppet or a pure patriot.

(Quaid Najmi can be contacted at: q.najmi@ians.in)

Maharashtra

17-Year-Old Molested By Coaching Class Professors

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Maharashtra: In a shocking incident, a 17-year-old girl was abused in a well-known coaching class in Beed, Maharashtra. The allegations have been leveraged against the two professors of the coaching classes.

The cops at the Shivajinagar police station registered a case under the POCSO Act late Thursday night. Professor Vijay Pawar, an office bearer of the coaching class association and a very well-known name in Beed’s coaching industry, along with Professor Prashant Khatavkar, allegedly molested a class 12 student.

As per the victim, in July 2024, Khatavkar asked the victim to visit her in his cabin, after which he behaved inappropriately. Later, she went to the institute’s director to report the incident. However, the victim alleged that the director also indulged in similar behaviour. According to her, the molestation continued till May 2025.

After the case was filed by the victim, Assistant Inspector Atul Kumar Landge took charge of the situation. “Both are absconding after committing the crime. Three teams of the local crime branch are trying to nab them,” Landge informed.

This incident has raised concerns over women’s safety in coaching centres in Beed.

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Maharashtra

6 Bangladeshi women and a man arrested from Pune and Mumbai

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Mumbai: Mumbai Police has intensified its action against Bangladeshis living illegally in Mumbai. Based on information received from Mumbai Police ATC, Bayazid Ayub Sheikh was detained in the limits of Andheri MIDC Police Station in Mumbai. His documents and Aadhar card were checked. It was found that he is Bangladeshi and is living here illegally. He told that there are many Bangladeshi women in Andheri area. After this, two suspicious women were detained. During interrogation, it was found that the accused Bayazid has also settled women with him in Pune.

Two Bangladeshi women were detained from Pune. One of them, Ati Sheikh, has a case registered in Nagpada for living illegally in Mumbai. All four women have been taken into custody. In this case, Pune Mumbai Police has arrested seven people including Bayazid Ayub Sheikh, Nasreen Begum, Rozni Akhtar, Kokila Bakhthar, Roma Begum, Pakhi Mustafa Begum, Kohinoor Akhtar Begum. Police has arrested six women and a Bangladeshi man. This operation was carried out by Additional Commissioner Paramjit Singh Dahiya and DCP Datta Nalawade on the instructions of Mumbai Police Commissioner Deven Bharti.

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Maharashtra

Muharram police station: Police alert ahead of Ashura and Ashadi Ekadashi, look at social media, warn of strict action against miscreants

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Mumbai: In view of Muharram and Ashura, the police have claimed to make special arrangements in the police station. Police Commissioner Ashutosh Dumbere said that small processions of mourning and grief are also taken out on Ashura and Ashadhi Ekadashi. In such a situation, the route has also been changed at many places to avoid clashes between the two processions. He has said that in the backdrop of Shia-Sunni communal clashes, separate routes have also been kept for mourning and grief, along with this the police is fully prepared and alert.

Ashutosh Dumbere said in a special meeting that joint meetings are held in view of Muharram and Ashura, in such a situation the police will also keep a special eye on controversial comments and other insulting posts and social media. Due to Muharram and Ashadhi Ekadashi, a formal meeting of peace committees was also held in the police station commissionerate. He said that for communal harmony, the police station commissionerate does not work only on festivals, but the peace committee and mohalla committee remain active throughout the year and miscreants are kept under surveillance. He said that strengthening brotherhood and communal harmony is among the priorities of the police, so meetings are held at the police station level to establish communal harmony.

Ashutosh Dumbere said that in the backdrop of Ashura, all security arrangements have been made in the police station and arrangements have also been made on the route. Not only this, mourning and mourning processions are taken out on a large scale in Thana, Mumbra, Rabodi, Ulhas Nagar, Bhiwandi, Dombivali Kalyan, so special security arrangements have been made on their route. He said that in view of Ashadhi Ekadashi, the police has taken special care that there is no clash in the processions of Muharram and Ashadhi Ekadashi and hence the routes related to them have also been changed.

The police is fully alert. Special monitoring is also being done on social media so that action can be taken against those who spoil the atmosphere by spreading inflammatory or hate messages on social media. Necessary instructions have also been issued at the police station level. Dumbare said that besides keeping an eye on those spoiling the atmosphere, orders have also been given to take action against them and the activities of miscreants will not be tolerated.

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