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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

Abu Asim response to Nitesh Rane’s statement that madrasas are the base of terrorism: Rane is a liar

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Mumbai: Maharashtra Minister Nitesh Rane, while demanding a ban on madrasas, called them a haven for terrorism and showed hostility towards Muslims, on which Maharashtra Samajwadi Party leader and MLA Abu Asim has called Nitesh Rane a liar. He said that Nitesh Rane is lying about madrasas. No training for terrorism is given in madrasas in our country. This is the brainchild of Nitesh Rane. If there is any doubt, then madrasas should be monitored 24 hours a day with cameras. Defaming madrasas is just part of divisive politics. The fact is that madrasas educate orphans and poor children and make them good human beings. If we look at history, the students of these same madrasas sacrificed their lives for the country’s freedom. The purpose of madrasas has always been to serve humanity. BJP’s politics is now limited to Muslims, mosques, prayers and madrasas. He said that the way BJP and Nitesh Rane are conspiring to defame madrasas, they can never succeed in their goal because this madrasa is not your lair, but the people are made from the soil of this place. Politics is involved in all the allegations made against madrasas and that is why there is no need to pay attention to Nitesh Rane’s words, his job is to spread poison and divide Hindus into Muslims.

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Maharashtra

Mumbai Municipal Corporation presents budget with deficit of Rs 80,952.56 crore for 2026-27, 8.77% increase in expenditure over last year’s estimate

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Mumbai: Municipal Corporation (BMC) has presented its deficit budget for the current financial year. It has presented a budget of Rs 80,952.56 crore for the financial year 2026-27, against an estimate of Rs 89.84 crore. Municipal Commissioner Bhushan Gagrani presented the budget along with Standing Committee Chairman Prabhakar Shinde.

The new expenditure is higher than the previous year’s budget of Rs 74,427.41 crore. The civic body said it has adopted a policy of reducing administrative expenditure and has made strong arrangements for development works.

The corporation currently has Rs 81,449 crore and 32 lakh crore. Of this amount, Rs 44,826 crore and 23 lakh crore are earmarked deposits and cannot be used. The remaining amount of Rs 36,623 crore and 09 lakh crore can be used for other civic projects.

Officials said the corporation may break some deposits to fund infrastructure and development initiatives.
A key policy decision in the budget relates to outdoor advertising. The civic body has imposed a complete ban on billboards larger than 40 by 40 feet. It will also not allow billboards on footpaths or building roofs. No new approvals will be given for such structures. The move is aimed at improving public safety and curbing dangerous hoardings.

The budget has provided Rs 5,237 crore for the health department for 2026-27. The civic body also said that 1.35 crore citizens have availed services at the Hindu Hardai Samrat Balasaheb Thackeray Hospital. It plans to introduce free AI-based treatment for diabetes and eye diseases at the hospital.

To tackle the rising air pollution in the city, the corporation has allocated Rs 159.82 crore for environment and cleanliness. The budget includes Rs 1,000 crore as grant to BEST. The education department has been allocated Rs 4,248.8 crore. Solid waste management gets Rs 580.82 crore, while the storm water drainage department gets Rs 1,800 crore.

The allocation for infrastructure is Rs 6,875 crore for roads and transport, Rs 9,650 crore for bridges, Rs 950 crore for coastal road project, Rs 1,330 crore for water engineering and Rs 6,600 crore for sewerage project works. Rs 800 crore has been allocated for parks and zoos. The budget emphasizes administrative expenditure for infrastructure development.

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Maharashtra

Mumbai: Ajit Pawar plane crash, Marine Drive police station refuses to register case against MLAs

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Mumbai: Police has refused to register a case in the Ajit Pawar plane crash case. NCP leader MLA Rohit Pawar along with other MLAs had today gone to Marine Drive police station and demanded that a case be registered in the Ajit Pawar plane crash or conspiracy case. The process of recording his confession statement was also going on, but in the meantime, the DCP and Additional Police Commissioner refused to register a case and said that a case cannot be registered in this matter. Expressing his displeasure, Rohit Pawar said that the purpose of registering an FIR today is that the DGCA has issued a circular on the basis of which action has been taken regarding the VSR company, on this basis the VSR company is responsible for this plane crash, yet the police have refused to register a case. He said that any citizen can register a complaint at the police station, this act says, but contrary to this, the police have refused to register a case. He said that efforts are underway to save the VSR company. He said that the police register cases for other crimes including assault, but why is the police not registering a case on the incident that happened with a Maratha leader and Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar? This is completely wrong. Our struggle will continue until justice is achieved. He said that tomorrow morning we will try to register a complaint at the Baramati police station. Rohit Pawar expressed his disappointment and said that if a Deputy Chief Minister does not get justice, then what will happen to the common man? Regarding the registration of a case in the case of Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, the ruling party BJP has also taken its stand that a case should not be registered in this matter, while it has also recommended a CBI inquiry into this matter, but despite this inquiry, we have the right to register an FIR, yet we are being deprived of it and have refused to take an FIR.

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