Today Sameer Wankhede’s father Gyandev Wankhede had to come forward and clarify about his son’s religion and name. What are you feeling about that?
What happened today is really sad. They are falling so low. If they have to prove something, it should be related to the case and not something that is personal. Whatever they want to say, they should go to court. There is a judiciary to listen and decide your arguments and if someone is wrong then the judiciary can put them in jail. Why are people doing this on social media and who are these PR agencies? Who has hired these PR agencies, who are threatening me and Sameer? They talk about hanging us and this is open trolling and when you see the people who comment, they are not real followers. He has zero followers and zero tweets. These are all fake accounts. These people are trying their best to scare us.
Is your husband Sameer Wankhede being targeted because he is going after Bollywood?
Of the 100 people caught, only two or three are from Bollywood but the media attention is on three and no mention is made about the rest. It’s just because famous people have billions of followers and then in the end it all becomes about Bollywood, which is not the case. Sameer doesn’t treat anything special and he won’t treat them badly because they are from the industry. For him all are the same.
I know the film industry is angry and I also feel that everyone has a right to have an opinion. A lot of people have talked about this matter and that’s okay. They have done it in a respectful manner and have shown support. Some have said that they are not okay with this kind of investigation. I respect it but hitting someone below the belt is not right and this is what is happening right now.
Do you think all these attacks are violating your personal life?
Showing the woman’s picture to the media and claiming that she is Sameer Wankhede’s ex-wife is not justice to the woman. Doesn’t he have a personal life? What if she has moved on in her life, she may have personal equations with someone and people are not liking what is happening in the media. He may face music because of how his photographs have been used on a public platform.
Are you worried about Sameer’s life and safety?
They are probably doing this because they want to throw him out of NCB. They want him to resign and that is what they want. They can’t digest and like an honest officer who can be bribed and put in their pocket. But here is an officer who is challenging the system and anyone who goes against the so called giants is bound to be targeted.
There are many speculations about Sameer taking bribe and traveling abroad.
Hey! Why would we go to Maldives after getting Rs 8 crore? We should think of settling down in London, buy a house and start a business and plan something better for us.
To be honest, why was there no extortion case against Sameer before this case? All of a sudden these allegations have come to the fore, which are quite worrying. Now all of a sudden it has come to the fore only to tarnish his spotless image as an honest officer.
Do you see this as a personal vendetta against Sameer?
This shouldn’t have happened, especially when Sameer is doing something right. And it’s not even that he’s making money or getting rewarded for the drugs he confiscates. He is doing reform work, please don’t punish him for it. Having said that, I want to know who will benefit if Sameer walks away from this case and NCB. There is so much noise that he is targeting Bollywood, which he is not. It’s just a matter.
Actresses like Deepika Padukone and others were paraded at the NCB office last year, when Sushant Singh Rajput’s case was being investigated. But, Aryan Khan is still in jail when no drug was found on him. Why do you think this happened?
The actresses were called for questioning – interrogation and punishment are two different things. If some leads are found in any case, then people related to those clues are bound to be called for questioning.
You’ve done a lot of public and TV shows lately. You seem like a very confident person. But, are you worried for Sameer and yourself?
I am a confident woman. I am a very strong force and I always encourage Sameer too. He is stronger than me. If I go weak this time, it will break him. The stronger I am, the more he will be able to fight the world. As they say, a woman must stand firm with her man. I am a very strong woman and thankfully NCB is providing us security. I am thankful to both the central and state governments for providing me security. But I am worried about Sameer’s health. Imagine PV Sindhu is going to Olympics and ready for it but then just before Olympics she is told that you can’t play anymore. How would the person feel? Same is the case with Sameer. This man has worked for his reputation for 15 long years and he is very close to finishing this case. Making allegations against him and trying to get him out of this case is just not enough. Sameer has a spotless image and even his enemy can’t speak like this kiya hoga (Even his enemies will not come forward to say that he is capable of something like this. But, these people have gone beyond him.
What message do you have for Sameer?
I just want Sameer to be strong. There are some people of the society who are not with you but there are other people of the country who are standing with you. Just hold on, fight, we will also fight with you.
Since the Aryan Khan case, have people in your field of work become wary of you?
I really don’t know what will happen. When you ask people to be careful with me, I don’t think I have different equations. When it comes to Sameer’s work he is different and when it comes to my work then my equation is completely different. I treat my seniors as my seniors, and my equation with friends from Bollywood and Marathi industry is never going to change. Secretly people from Bollywood and Marathi industry are messaging me, ‘We are with you, we stand firmly’. But they are afraid to come out on social media and openly show us support because they are worried that they may not get further work. Who will take panga from the crocodile, (Who is going to put his hand in the crocodile’s mouth?) That there is also fear.
Even if my work is affected, it will be for the country. If my work suffers for the sake of my country, it doesn’t matter. If I have had to bear the brunt of my honesty and integrity, so be it. Truth should come out.
What is your message to the film industry?
I want to say to Bollywood, please don’t take it personally. Sameer is not against you, he is only against drugs and that’s it. He is a gem of a person who lives together. Not many people know him, he will die for the sake of friends and friendship. He is only fighting the drug menace, be it the corporate world or any other industry.
A certificate was being circulated on social media regarding Sameer Wankhede’s birth and family, alleging that his father’s name could be Dawood Wankhede.
I don’t want to name anyone. This is a fake certificate.
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