My mother was Muslim: Sameer Wankhede releases statement against Nawab Malik

I come from a multi-religious and secular family. My father is a Hindu and my mother was a Muslim. Sameer Wankhede, zonal director of NCB, has expressed his displeasure saying that it was insulting to post my private documents on Twitter. Minister of State Nawab Malik had said that Sameer's father's name was Dawood. He had also released his birth certificate alleging that he had changed his religion to get a job.

“I would like to express that my father Sh Dnyandev Kachruji Wankhede retired as Senior Police Inspector of State Excise Department, Pune on 30.06.2007. My father is a Hindu and my mother Late Mrs Zaheeda was a Muslim. I belong to a composite, multi religious and secular family in true Indian tradition and I am proud of my heritage,” Wankhede said in a press release.

Further, I married Dr. Shabana Qureshi in 2006 in a civil marriage ceremony under the Special Marriage Act, 1954. Both of us divorced mutually through Civil Court under the Special Marriage Act in the year 2016. Later in the year 2017, I married Shiimati Kranti Dinanath Redkar,” Sameer Wankhede has said.

Wankhede went on to state, “The publishing of my personal documents on Twitter is defamatory in nature and unnecessary invasion of my family privacy. It is intended to malign me, my family, my father and my late mother. The series of acts of Hon'ble Minister over the past few days have put me and my family under tremendous mental and emotional pressure. I am pained by the nature of personal, defamatory and slanderous attacks.”

Malik tweeted a purported birth certificate and marriage photo of the embattled Wankhede with telling captions: "Yahanse shuru hua farziwada (the fraud started here) and Pehchan Kaun (guess who)".

The birth certificate shows the NCB chief's name as 'Sameer Dawood Wankhede', and the picture is from his (Wankhede's) first wedding with one Dr. Shabana Qureshi, and he later divorced her to get married with Marathi actress Kranti Redkar.

The NCP minister claimed that as per the birth certificate, Wankhede is a born Muslim but allegedly appeared for the civic services (UPSC) exams through a reserved category and became an Indian Revenue Service (IRS) officer."He has forged the documents to get reservations in the (civil services) examinations and job," Malik contended.

I belong to multi religious and secular family. My father is a Hindu and my mother was a Muslim. Publishing of my personal documents on Twitter is defamatory and invasion of my family privacy. Pained by slanderous attacks by Maharashtra Minister Nawab Malik: Sameer Wankhede, NCB pic.twitter.com/L0VZKHIZ8p

— ANI (@ANI) October 25, 2021