Mumbai: The father of the first wife of NCB (Narcotics Control Bureau) zonal director Sameer Wankhede on Thursday claimed that he knew the Wankhedes as “followers of Islam” and that the officer’s father’s name was Dawood.

“We agreed to the marriage of my daughter, Dr Shabana, with Sameer because we had cordial relations with his late mother Zaheeda...I knew Sameer used to go to mosque occasionally,” Dr Zaheed Qureshi told reporters.

He said that he came know about Wankhede being a Hindu after the controversy over his birth certificate. “When Sameer claimed that he has been a Hindu since birth, people asked me how did I allow my daughter to marry him...I am making it clear that when the marriage took place, the groom was practising Islam. His father’s name was Dawood,” said Dr Qureshi.

Mumbai: “Picture abhi baki hai mere dost (the film is not over yet my friend),” said NCP minister Nawab Malik, in a sarcastic dig at NCB zonal director Sameer Wankhede after Aryan Khan and two others were granted bail by Bombay high court on Thursday.

Malik further alleged that Wankhede, who was on a spree to send innocents behind bars, is scared of jail himself. “A week ago, Wankhede had approached Mumbai Police for police protection, while on Thursday, fearing arrest…he approached the high court for protection. What has changed during the week that prompted Wankhede to knock on the doors of the judiciary,” Malik asked.

Reiterating that all cases filed by Wankhede were fake and fabricated, Malik said he will submit the evidence before the judiciary and the court will be urged to quash the cases against the innocent persons. “Aryan and two others got bail on Thursday. They should have been granted bail long back by the special court, but they remained in jail as NCB lawyers continued to change their stand,” he claimed.