Sameer Wankhede is an Indian Revenue Service officer serving as the zonal director of the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB). He is known for conducting several drug raids and arrests in Mumbai and its surrounding areas.
Wiki/Biography
Sameer Wankhede was born on Friday, 14 December 1979 (age 43 years; in 2022) in Mumbai, Maharashtra. His zodiac sign is Sagittarius. He completed his formal education and obtained a degree in BA (History Hons.). Next, he prepared for the UPSC exam. He passed the exam and passed out in 2008, joining the Indian Revenue Service (IRS).
Physical appearance
Height (approx): 5′ 10″
Eye Color: Black
Hair Color: Black
Family & Caste
Sameer Wankhede belongs to Scheduled Caste.
Parents & Siblings
Sameer’s father’s name is Dayandev Wankhede, and he is a retired police officer. He has a younger sister, Yasmeen Wankhede, who is a criminal lawyer, and her mother’s name is Zaheda Wankhede.
Kranti Redkar with her father-in-law, Dnyandeo Wankhede
Sameer Wankhede with his sister, Yasmeen Wankhede
Wife & Children
Sameer got married to Marathi actress Kranti Redkar in March 2017 in a private ceremony. Together they have twin daughters- Zyda and Ziya.
Sameer Wankhede and his wife, Kranti Redkar
Career
After completing his training, Sameer’s first post was at the Mumbai Airport as the Deputy Commissioner of the Air Intelligence Unit (AIU). As part of the customs team at the airport, Sameer busted several people who were trying to avoid paying taxes on goods and cash brought in from other countries. Sameer is famous for not giving permission to any person regardless of their status in society until they reveal the goods and pay taxes on the goods. After serving with the AIU, Sameer was appointed as the additional SP of the National Investigation Agency (NIA), and subsequently, he became the Joint Commissioner of the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI). In 2019, he was appointed as the zonal director of the Narcotics Control Bureau, and since then, his team has successfully seized drugs and other materials worth Rs. 17,000 crore. He was the leading officer in the investigation into the suicide of Bollywood actor Sushant Singh Rajput, and he managed to figure out the drug angle in the case in which several big Bollywood celebrities were allegedly involved. Reports say that Sameer personally interrogated actress Rhea Chakraborty and her brother, Showik Chakraborty, for their involvement in the ‘Bollywood drug nexus.’
Sameer Wankhede during a press conference
Awards & Honors
- Maharashtra Sanman 2021
Sameer Wankhede received Maharashtra Sanman 2021 by Governor of Maharashtra and Goa Bhagat Singh Koshiyari
- Jamadar Bapu Lakshman Lamkhade Award for ‘Most Outstanding Contribution in Public Service’
Sameer Wankhede received Jamadar Bapu Lakshman Lamkhade award
- Directorate General Disc in August 2019
Controversy
Amid the cruise drug case involving Shah Rukh Khan’s son Aryan Khan, Wankhede had to face many serious allegations from Maharashtra cabinet minister Nawab Malik who accused him of using fake scheduled caste certificates to clear the UPSC exams. After an independent witness in the cruise drug case told the agency that several investigators in the case were involved in extortion, Wankhede had to face a departmental vigilance investigation. In November 2021, the SIT took over the drug case and five other cases from the Mumbai unit, and Wankheded had to step back from investigating the cruise drug case. On 12 May 2023, he was booked by the CBI under charges of criminal conspiracy (120-B IPC), and threats of extortion (388 IPC); he was also charged under corruption-related provisions under the Prevention of Corruption Act on a complaint from the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB). According to the CBI, Wankhede asked for a bribe of Rs 25 crore for not framing Shah Rukh Khan’s son Aryan Khan in the cruise drug case.
Facts/Trivia
- Sameer Wankhede started working in the Maharashtra Service Tax Department in 2010, and he booked over 2,500 people, including nearly 200 celebrities, for tax evasion. The raids conducted by his team helped in collecting and adding revenue of Rs. 87 crore in the treasury.
- In 2011, the 2011 Cricket World Cup trophy was confiscated by the customs department at the Mumbai airport because it was made of gold. Sameer Wankhede, in charge, ensured that the tax amount was paid to allow the trophy to enter the country.
- In 2013, Sameer detained popular Punjabi pop singer Mika Singh for nearly four hours for carrying foreign currency while he was returning from Bangkok. Mika has $11,000 and Rs. 2.75 lakh in cash with him along with bottles of liquor worth Rs. 53,000. By law, any individual flying home to India with more than $5,000 should declare the amount.
- While in the IT Department, Sameer Wankhede raided the properties of Bollywood actor Vivek Oberoi, who was charged with tax evasion of Rs. 40 lakhs. Similarly, Anurag Kashyap is under the scanner of the IT Department, and a tax evasion notice of Rs. 55 lakh was released in his name.
- After the discovery of the drug angle in Sushant Singh Rajput’s suicide case, the NCB started conducting more frequent raids in the city, and in one such incident, Indian comedian Bharti Singh and her husband, Haarsh Limbachiyaa, were arrested by the NCB for consumption and possession of marijuana in November 2020 The arrest was made under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985, and the team recovered 86 grams of cannabis from their house.
Bharti Singh and Haarsh Limbachiyaa in a van outside the NCB office
- On November 22, 2020, Wankhede and his team were attacked by a group of sixty drug dealers. In this incident, Sameer escaped the attack with minor scratches; however, two members of his team were seriously injured.
@narcoticsbureau troops are attacked.
Attacked by Drug Dealers
2 NCB officers injured…
NCB Zonal Director Sameer Wankhede attacked..
The attacker was arrested.
We want to see the End… We will not stop.. We the People of India are with your NCB team#SSRCulpritsRoamingFree pic.twitter.com/FXYC3o5Zhz
— ???Debleena (SSRF)? (@itsdeleena) November 23, 2020
- In June 2021, Sameer Wankhede and his team arrested Harris Khan, a drug supplier operating in Bandra region. The report said that he had worked for Dawood Ibrahim’s aide, Chinku Pathan. The accused has more than twenty one criminal cases registered against him.
- In June 2021, the NCB raided a bakery in Mumbai, where they found a batch of cannabis-based brownies and 35 grams of marijuana. With this, they were able to arrest three people including a woman and Jagat Chaurasia’s supplier. In further investigation, the NCB team found 125 grams of marijuana from his house.
- In July 2021, following an anonymous tip, Sameer Wankhede and his team raided the home of professional psychologist Rahmeen Charaniya, who was involved in the process of baking and selling cannabis-infused brownies. He works with a famous Mumbai hospital, and he used to supply these brownies after work. He will take orders through social media platforms and then personally deliver the brownies. After the raid, the NCB recovered 10 kg of hashish brownies, 350 gm of opium, and Rs. 1.7 lakh in cash at his house.
Many brownies recover from home
- In October 2021, Shah Rukh Khan’s son Aryan Khan was arrested by the NCB after a team led by Sameer Wankhede raided a cruise ship in Mumbai and busted a high-profile drug party. The cruise ship was on its way from Mumbai to Goa when the NCB team raided the party at the port. The team found cocaine, hash, MD, and other drugs on the cruise ship. Along with Aryan, his two friends, Arbaaz Merchant and Munmun Dhamecha were arrested by the NCB team.
Aryan Khan and Arbaaz Merchant (red hoodie) with NCB officers after their arrest
- After the arrest, Sameer faced backlash from SRK’s fans and other industry insiders, saying that NCB only targets celebrities, and they don’t focus on the bigger picture. Sameer gave a statement to The Times of India and said-
We do our job. There are rules and everyone must follow them. It is the same for all. Everyone is equal before the law and just because someone is famous we should let them go free. Why don’t celebrities have to follow the rules and why should they get away with it? Famous doesn’t give them the right to break the rules? If we see famous people breaking the law, we don’t have to do anything? Should I just go after drug dealers and conduct operations and raids in slums only? This year we have made more than 310 catches. How many of them are celebrities? We have seized illegal substances worth Rs 150 crores this year. Is anyone talking about that?”
- Sameer also talked about the whole incident, and he mentioned the IPC charge under which Aryan Khan and his friends were arrested. He further said-
In further developments in Cr 94/21, the three accused namely Aryan Khan, Arbaz Merchant and Munmun Dhamecha were arrested today on 03-10-2021 u/s 8 (c) r/w section 20 (b), 27, 28 & 29 of the NDPS Act and have been produced before the court this holy day off today after their medical.”
- Despite the negative comments and trolling on social media, Sameer’s wife, Marathi actress Kranti Redkar, gave an interview to ETimes TV and said-
Sameer has always been a hard worker. The operation and the case were there before as well. Today, he is dealing with a Bollywood-related drug investigation case, which is why it is getting more and more attention. I give him space when he investigates or conducts operations. He was sometimes so busy that he couldn’t sleep. He works 24/7. He hardly slept for 2 hours. I never intervened or got involved when he talked on the phone about a particular case. He conducts secret operations every day, and he is not even allowed to reveal anything related to him and his family. Our twin babies sometimes miss him at home, which is obvious. They are three years old, and missing their father at home is obvious to them. But Sameer knows I am at home to take care of his family, kids and he doesn’t have to worry about anything. I am very proud that Sameer sacrificed his personal life, children and family for the country.”
- While the majority of sources have stated his batch as 2008, some sources have written that Sameer passed out in the 2004 batch.
Categories: Biography
Source: SCHOOL TRANG DAI
