A magistrate court in Mumbai ordered a police enquiry into a defamation and stalking complaint filed by the sister of former Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) Zonal Director Sameer Wankhede against senior NCP leader Nawab Malik.
Indian Revenue Services (IRS) officer Sameer Wankhede has been at loggerheads with Malik since 2021 when he was the Zonal Director of Narcotic Control Bureau (NCB) in Mumbai.
Yasmeen Wankhede is his elder sister and is a lawyer by profession. Yasmeen’s plea said that Malik had made false, defamatory and baseless allegations against her and her family members, particularly, her brother Sameer Wankhede. This was done with a malafide intention to pressurising the family.
While stating in detail, the alleged defamatory posts of Malik, the plea prayed that the court initiate proceedings against the former minister for the offences under sections 354D (stalking), 499 and 500 (defamation) apart from 509 (insulting modesty of woman) of the Indian Penal Code.
Wankhede’s lawyer had submitted before the court that Malik had gone through Yasmeen’s social media post and had downloaded some of her pictures and posted on his social media handles so that was equivalent to stalking.
On Monday, Magistrate AK Awri passed the order after hearing Wankhede’s lawyer Ali Kaashif Khan Deshmukh. The Magistrate said, “Matter refer for inquiry under Section 202 Crpc.”
Section 202 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) gives the magistrate the power to inquire into the case or direct an investigation by the police.
In 2021 January, Malik’s son-in-law was arrested by Wankhede’s team for allegedly investing in drug business. Malik had then started a campaign against Wankhede speaking about his religion, marital life and even his educational qualifications.
When actor Shahrukh Khan’s son Aryan Khan was arrested by Wankhede’s team in October 2021, then Malik had put out many social media posts highlighting many flaws in the case. Ultimately, Aryan Khan was not chargesheeted by the NCB.