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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

Maharashtra: Conspiracy to spread religious hatred foiled, one arrested

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Mumbai: Uncovering a conspiracy to spread religious hatred in Mumbai, Maharashtra, the cyber department has claimed to have arrested a chartered accountant who tried to disturb law and order by circulating derogatory images of Hindu deities on social media. After this, the police took the matter seriously and solved the case. Maharashtra Cyber ​​has claimed to have arrested a person for insulting Hindu deities and making obscene images viral on social media. The arrest has been made in the case of spreading religious hatred and trying to create unrest on social media. Maharashtra Cyber ​​has registered a case under sections 1963, 294, 299 of the BNS and the IT Act. The accused has also shared obscene and nude images and videos of Hindu deities on social media and websites, which created a problem of order and discipline.

After the arrest of the accused, his mobile phone has been sent for forensic examination. Along with this, 6 X-accounts have also been identified on which Hindu deities were insulted and obscene images were made viral. In this case, 7 Twitter X-accounts have also been identified, which are fake accounts. This action was taken to spread religious hatred and unrest in Maharashtra, along with disturbing law and order. Maharashtra Cyber ​​has taken action in this case where pictures and videos of deities were made viral to deify them. The accused has been identified as a 39-year-old chartered accountant and further investigation has been initiated, informed Additional DG of Maharashtra Cyber ​​Cell, Yashasvi Yadav.

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Maharashtra

BJP leader Navneet Rana in a state of shock after receiving death threats from Pakistan

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Mumbai: BJP leader and former MP Navneet Rana has received a death threat from a Pakistani number, after which the Mumbai Police has started investigating the matter. The threatening message states that the Hindu lioness who recites Hanuman Chalisa is a short-term guest and will be flying soon. Navneet Rana has informed the Mumbai Police about this and the police have taken steps in its investigation. All the phone calls have been received from a Pakistani number. Navneet Rana has reported this to the Khar Police Station.

Last year, Navneet Rana had also received a threat. This threatening message was sent on WhatsApp in the form of a video clip and this threat was received from Afghanistan, Pakistan. Now Navneet Rana has received a threat again from Pakistan. Two days ago, Navneet Rana had issued a statement against Pakistan praising Operation Sindoor and said that they have entered the house and killed you, they have dug your grave, After this, Navneet Rana has now received threatening calls from a Pakistani number. The police have started investigating and are trying to find out from which number the call was made and whose number the call was received from. After receiving the threatening message, the Mumbai police has now increased Navneet’s security and security has also been tightened at her house in Mumbai.

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Maharashtra

Case registered against Muslim youth for posting Pakistani flag on Instagram in Kurla

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Mumbai: In Mumbai’s Kurla Kasaiwada Quresh Nagar, the Chuna Bhatti police have claimed to have arrested a Muslim youth for posting the national flag of Pakistan on Instagram in support of the country. The Hindu Circle Samaj in Chuna Bhatti police had filed a complaint after the social media post and the post had also gone viral on social media in which it was written that this terrorist lives in Kasaiwada, Mumbai. Share this post so that he can be caught and a case of treason and treason can be filed against this jihadi. After this post went viral on social media, the Mumbai police also took action and after tracking down the youth, he arrested him.

During the police investigation, the young man admitted that he had posted the Pakistani flag on his Instagram account Sahil Khan. After the police action, the Instagram account has been deleted. However, the police have collected other details including the Instagram post. The police have registered a case against Sahil Khan under sections 152,153 of the BNS and further investigation is underway. Sahil Khan is also accused of waging war against the country and inciting it and spreading hatred and endangering the integrity of the country. The war between India and Pakistan has ended, but the Mumbai police is keeping an eye on the controversial post. Therefore, Muslim youth have been appealed to avoid controversial and anti-national posts. If anyone posts such a post, strict action will be taken against him and he will have to go behind bars. Sahil Khan’s arrest has been confirmed by Senior Inspector Nisha Jadhav of Mumbai’s Chuna Bhatti Police Station and said that he has been arrested after registering a complaint and further investigation is underway.

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