Ex-father-in-law says Sameer Wankhede followed Islam, his father's name is Dawood

The father of the first wife of NCBs Mumbai zonal director Sameer Wankhede on Thursday claimed that he always knew the Wankhede family as followers of Islam and that the name of the officers father was DawoodTalking to reporters Dr Zaheed Qureshi said that when his daughter Shabana married Sameer Wankhede the latter practised Islam and would occasionally visit mosques He also said that he came know about Wankhede being a Hindu after a recent controversy over his birth certificateHis claim came against the backdrop of Maharashtra minister and NCP leader Nawab Maliks allegations that Sameer Wankhede was born as a Muslim but forged documents including a caste certificate to show that he belonged to the Hindu SC category to get a job under quota after clearing the UPSC examinationAfter Maliks allegation the NCB officer had said that his father Dnyandev Kachruji Wankhede was a Hindu and his late mother Zaheeda was a Muslim He said his father retired as senior police inspector of the state Excise department Pune in June 2007We always knew the Wankhede family as followers of Islam In fact I always knew Dnyandev as Dawood Wankhede We agreed to the marriage of my daughter Dr Shabana with Sameer because we had cordial relations with his late mother Zaheeda Dr Qureshi saidIt was an arranged marriage between Dr Shabana and Sameer which took place in 2006 However after the divorce as it was a painful thing for us and we never discussed it and buried it in our minds We even moved on with our lives he saidWhen asked about how he came to know about Wankhedes claim of being a Hindu Qureshi said After the controversy broke out about Sameer Wankhede and his birth certificate my family came to know about it In fact I knew late Zaheedas husbands name as Dawood I knew Sameer used to go to mosque occasionallyExplaining his decision to break his silence over the matter he said When Sameer claimed that he has been a Hindu since his birth many people asked me how did I allow my daughter to marry him a Hindu It became an issue of prestige for me and my family Hence I am making it clear that when the marriage between my daughter Shabana and Sameer Wankhede took place the groom was practising Islam His fathers name was DawoodTwo years after Wankhedes marriage he had secured a government jobResponding to a question related to Wankhede seeking a job under quota Qureshi said When Sameer got the job nobody inquired how he bagged it You generally dont go so deep into someone elses life In those days it was not even a practice to find out whether the job is sought through some quota or notResponding to the claim made by Sameer Wankhedes father that his name was Dyandev and not Dawood he said All the documents shown by Dnyandev Wankhede are before his marriage with Zaheeda He has not shown any document after his marriage He accepted Islam then married to Zaheeda and lived a life of a normal MuslimI have no idea how our personal photos and information has come out in media We have done nothing or did not help anyone for it he saidSameer Wankhede had earlier said that he married Dr Shabana Qureshi in 2006 under the Special Marriage Act Both of them divorced mutually through a civil court in 2016 Later in 2017 he married actor Kranti RedkarOn Monday Malik had claimed that Wankhede is a Muslim by birth and alleged that by hiding his religion he Mr Wankhede obtained fake documents and through this the right of a backward class candidate was snatchedHowever Wankhede had said that he belongs to a composite multireligious and secular family in true Indian tradition and he is proud of his heritageOn Wednesday the Qazi who had performed the first marriage of Sameer Wankhede claimed the officer belonged to a Muslim family otherwise the nikah would not have been solemnised as per IslamAn NCB team led by Wankhede earlier this month allegedly seized drugs onboard a cruise ship off the Mumbai coast following which Aryan Khan son of Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan was arrested on October 3Malik has repeatedly termed the cruise drugs bust case as fakeThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever