National SC Panel Says Sameer Wankhede Is Being Targeted Despite Good Work; Condemns Personal Attack On His Family

The vice chairperson of the National Commission for Scheduled Castes (NCSC) has said that Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) officer Sameer Wankhede is being targeted despite doing good work and making his department proud.

"One officer is doing his duty and making the department proud. So how can a minister personally attack him and his family members? The government should carry out an investigation in why he is doing so,” Arun Halder said on Sunday after visiting Wankhede’s house, according to news agency PTI.

However, the vice-chairperson also stated that the state can initiate a probe in case of doubt about a person’s caste certificate. “In the central government, caste verification is not mandatory, but the state government is empowered to probe into the caste certificate of a resident of Maharashtra,” informed Halder.

Notably, Maharashtra minister and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Nawab Malik alleged that Wankhede had illegally obtained the bogus Hindu scheduled caste certificate. Malik had also termed the raid on the cruise ship in Mumbai, in which Aryan Khan and seven others were arrested, as fake.

NCB Zonal Director Sameer Wankhede had denied the allegations levelled against him by Nawab Malik. He also clarified that his father is a Hindu while his late mother was a Muslim. “I got married under a special marriage act. I am entitled to get my father's caste benefits,” he added.