FIR registered against Sameer Wankhede for allegedly providing false information to obtain liquor licence

NCP spokesperson and the state cabinet minister Nawab Malik had earlier claimed that Wankhede owns a bar called Hotel Sadguru in Navi Mumbai. He had alleged that the Indian Revenue Service (IRS) officer was only 17 years old when he received the licence for the bar.

Wankhede was in the news after he as NCB director raided a Cordelia cruise ship last year and had arrested actor Shah Rukh Khan’s son Aryan Khan and others.

According to the police, the IRS officer misled the government by submitting a false affidavit about his age in order to obtain the liquor sale licence. An official said that while submitting the application for the licence in February 1997, a date was not mentioned but the affidavit and stamp paper said that Wankhede was an adult.

However, the excise department claims that as per Wankhede’s birthdate, he was not 18 years old at the time and misled the department by wilful misrepresentation.

“The motive behind not mentioning the age was to hide that he is not 21 years old which is necessary to acquire the liquor licence as per the law. The affidavit was made and submitted when he was under 18 years of age. He had only mentioned in the affidavit that he is major instead of the exact number so that his age would not become an obstacle for the approval of liquor sales licence,” an excise official claimed adding that the accused cheated the government by submitting fake documents as an original.

The licence allotted to Wankhede was cancelled by the excise department earlier this month.