Mumbai: Maharashtra Cabinet Minister Nawab Malik claimed Friday that NCB officer Sameer Wankhede owns a permit room and bar in Vashi in Navi Mumbai. Nawab Malik said the licence for the bar was obtained in 1997 when he was a minor, and this was illegal.
Malik came out with fresh allegations against the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) Mumbai zonal director. He said despite being in a government job, Wankhede holds a licence to operate the permit room which is against service rules. However, Wankhede dismissed Malik’s claims and said he will file a defamation suit against the minister.
“Sameer’s father was in the state Excise department and he obtained a licence to run a permit room and bar in the name of Sameer. His age at that time was 17 years and 10 months. No licence is issued to a person who has not completed 18 years of age. Still his father managed to get the licence in 1997-98. The licence is renewed every time in the name of Wankhede,” Malik told reporters here.
The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) spokesperson said there was something suspicious about the outlet’s valuation disclosed by the IRS officer to the government.
“In 2017, Sameer Wankhede, as a government employee, had declared his assets as a part of rules, where he has mentioned the bar as a property. For more than a decade, its valuation was shown as rupees one crore and earning of Rs 2,00,000 as annual rent. Even in 2020, Wankhede claimed that the valuation of the bar is rupees one crore and annual rent is Rs 2,00,000. It means there is something suspicious about it,” Malik stated.
The minister accused Wankhede of concealing from the central government information about holding the liquor licence. “He hid information from the Union government that there is a liquor business licence in his own name. He later declared the income coming from rent. One should not forget that a licence cannot be transferred. The one who owns the licence is considered to be in the business,” Malik asserted.
The minister said the NCB officer will lose his job for violating service rules. “Wankhede is going to lose his job for sure, as he is having business despite being in a government job. He has already forged his caste and birth certificates to get the government job. The Union government should stop supporting him and saving him from legal action,” asserted Malik.
When contacted, the NCB officer rejected the claims made by Malik. “The minister has made fake allegations. The establishment which I owned is not a bar, but a family restaurant and bar. Whatever he has said is fake. The photo which he has shared is not of my restaurant and I am going to file a defamation suit against him,” informed Wankhede.
“My mother had purchased that restaurant and I was a partner in it. I used to study in it and also worked there as manager. After joining civil services, my father became a partner and I am mentioning about it in all my declarations to the government. I have been disclosing this property to the government since 2008 and also paying tax for that,” added the NCB official.
