Work Of Fiction, Says Shiv Sena On ‘Electoral Debut’ Of Controversial IRS Officer Sameer Wankhede

New Delhi: Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena on Thursday rubbished news report about controversial Indian Revenue Services (IRS) officer Sameer Wankhede contesting the upcoming Maharashtra assembly election from Dharavi on its party ticket.

“The news reports about Sameer Wankhede contesting the upcoming Maharashtra assembly election from Dharavi or any other seat, on a Shiv Sena ticket are pure conjecture and a work of fiction. There is no such proposal before the party,” the ANI reported quoting Shiv Sena sources.

The one-phase Assembly elections in Maharashtra will slated to be held on November 20.

Wankhede shot into the national limelight after he arrested Shah Rukh Khan’s son, Aryan Khan, in October 2021 for allegedly using and carrying drugs at a cruise party in Mumbai. Currently posted in Chennai, he was the zonal director of the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) at the time of the star son’s arrest.

At the height of the controversy over Aryan Khan, who the court later acquitted,  Wankhede was accused of demanding and accepting bribes through intermediaries. He was also accused of submitting a fraudulent scheduled caste certificate to benefit from the reservation in his IRS exam.

Last year, the ED initiated an investigation into the money laundering case against him. The CBI also booked Wankhede under PMLA for allegedly demanding Rs 25 crore as a bribe for not framing Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan’s son Aryan Khan in the drug case.

During the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, Wankhede was reported to be keen on joining the BJP and contesting from the Wardha parliamentary seat. He hails from Wardha in Maharashtra’s Vidarbha region.