There’s trouble in store for Narcotics Control Bureau zonal director Sameer Wankhede as the excise department has asked the zonal office to inquire into the bar and restaurant in Navi Mumbai allegedly linked to him. It has been reported that Wankhede was a minor on the date of the issuance of its license. The excise department’s move came days after NCP leader Nawab Malik released documents that the bar and restaurant has been operating since 1997.
Malik had claimed that Wankhede's father Dnyandev Wankhede, who was with the excise department, got the license in his son’s name. “In 1997, Sameer Wankhede was not even an adult. He was 17 years old and getting a bar licence at that time was illegal,” said Malik. However, Wankhede has denied all charges.
The excise department has asked the Thane zonal office to conduct a probe and has sought its reply to nine questions. “The department would like to know when the FL-3 license was approved and in whose name. Who were the officers concerned, including the excise inspector, and under whose signature was the license issued?” The Free Press Journal is in the possession of the department's communication in this regard.
Further, the information has been sought on whether the applicant’s statement was recorded. “Whether the applicant has completed 21 years of age, which is mandatory for seeking the license to run a permit room and bar. Whether the applicant after the approval had transferred the rights to anyone else, and when. The necessary agreement should be submitted. Whether the applicant had taken a due permission while giving the bar to operate to someone else and it should be checked whether the applicant had signed on the application seeking renewal of license in the last two years,” the officer said.
The department would also like to know whether the name of the bar and restaurant in the license, and what was displayed as mentioned in the municipal document, are the same. In addition, the zonal office has been asked to check if the location of the bar is as per the sanctioned map.
