FIR filed against NCB's Sameer Wankhede for faking age
The Thane Police on Saturday registered a First Information Report (FIR) against Narcotics Control Bureau's former Mumbai zonal director Sameer Wankhede for willful misrepresentation of his age to obtain a bar license. The FIR was filed after state excise department official Shankar Gogavale complained that Wankhede was below 18 years of age in 1996-97 while obtaining a license for Sadguru Bar in Navi Mumbai.
Why does this story matter?
The matter first came to light when Maharashtra Minister Nawab Malik alleged that Wankhede obtained a bar license when he was a minor. Following Malik's allegations, the state excise department had taken up the matter for investigation. Notably, Malik had also leveled serious allegations against Wankhede after the latter arrested Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan's son Aryan Khan in a drug-related case last year.
FIR under sections related to forgery, cheating
After the complaint, regular hearings were held by the state excise department where Wankhede's lawyers also put forth their side. Based on the investigation, an FIR was filed by the police under various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). These include IPC sections 181, 188, 420, 465, 478, and 481 that deal with forgery, cheating and giving false information on oath.
Bar's license was canceled earlier this month
It may be noted that District Collector Rajesh Narvekar had canceled the license earlier this month, claiming it was obtained by misrepresentation and fraud. This happened after Nawab Malik raised the issue of Wakhede's bar license.
What did Nawab Malik say?
Last year, Malik had claimed Wankhede owned a permit room and a bar in Sadguru hotel in Navi Mumbai. Malik had said that Wankhede was 17 years old when he received the license for the bar. Thereby, it is illegal as the permissible age is 21. He had also claimed that owning a license while being in a government job was against service rules.
