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Maharashtra minister Nawab Malik has stated before the Bombay high court that he spoke out against Sameer Wankhede as people have the right to know how the Narcotics Control Bureau official got his job 'illegally.'
He wanted people to know that Wankhede, zonal director of the Narcotics Control Bureau in Mumbai, was leading a 'dual life' as 'a Hindu and a Muslim,' the Nationalist Congress Party leader said in an affidavit filed two days ago.
'The materials published by me show the illegal manner in which Sameer Wankhede acquired his job and the illegalities committed by him during the discharge of his official duties,' it said.
'Thus, the public has a right to know the truth related to the same,' the affidavit added.
Malik's affidavit was in response to a defamation suit filed against him by Sameer Wankhede's father Dnyandev.
Dnyandev filed the suit in November after Malik posted a series of tweets claiming, among other things, that Sameer Wankhede was born a Muslim but submitted a false caste certificate declaring that he belonged to a scheduled caste to secure a central government job.
Dnyandev denied the allegation and claimed that Malik was targeting him and his family because the minister's son-in-law had been arrested by NCB officials led by Sameer Wankhede in a drugs case.
Last month, a single HC judge rejected Dnyandev's prayer for an interim order to Malik not to make statements against the Wankhede family during the defamation suit's pendency.
The suit and interim relief prayer will now be heard afresh by another judge after Christmas vacation as both the parties have agreed to a fresh hearing.
The minister also denied that he was making statements against the Wankhede family because of his son-in-law's arrest in January 2021.
He had been speaking out about the NCB's illegal actions since November 2020, before the arrest and subsequent release on bail of his son-in-law, Malik said.
The minister said he started criticising the central agency after noticing that it was going after celebrities for publicity instead of busting big drug syndicates.
'Various illegalities have been committed by him (Sameer Wankhede) in raids conducted under his charge, which included high profile cases and cases involving Bollywood celebrities,' the affidavit said.
'The material available also shows that Sameer Wankhede is leading a dual life, as a Muslim and a Hindu. He has illegally obtained his job under the SC category,' the minister alleged.
The NCB official had found himself amid controversy recently over 'irregularities' during the arrest of Aryan Khan, the son of Bollywood star Shah Rukh Khan, in an alleged drugs case.
Malik has also attached copies of Sameer Wankhede's purported birth certificate, school leaving certificate and other documents in support of his allegations.