Defamation complaint against Nawab Malik: No prima facie evidence of offence, says police

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Mumbai, Aug 25 (PTI) Police have informed a magistrate court here that there was no prima facie evidence of a cognisable or non-cognisable offence in the defamation and stalking complaint filed by former NCB zonal director Sameer Wankhede's sister against senior NCP leader Nawab Malik.

The Bandra magistrate court had ordered an enquiry into Yasmeen Wankhede's complaint under section 202 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) and directed the police to file its report.

In her complaint filed in 2021, the IRS officer's sister accused the former state minister of making false, defamatory and scandalous allegations against her in various tweets and television interviews.

The enquiry report, submitted recently in the court, has Malik's statement that his posts and press conferences at the time were part of his duty as a spokesperson of a political party, and that he has no personal animosity towards Yasmeen Wankhede.

The report further cited the NCP leader's statement that he has immense respect for women and has never acted in a way that would insult or disrespect them.

Based on the statement and investigation into the matter, the report concluded that Yasmeen Wankhede's Instagram account is public, and Malik reposted photos from her public account on his X handle.

"The inquiry found no prima facie evidence of a cognisable or non-cognisable offence," the report concluded.

Yasmeen Wankhede's advocate, Ali Kaashif Khan Deshmukh, said that the police have failed to understand that a woman's personal photo from her social media account, available publicly, cannot be used in a defamatory context.

He said that they will be filing a protest petition against the report in the next hearing.

The complainant stated that Sameer Wankhede, during his stint as Zonal Director of Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB), was actively involved in busting drug rackets and handled various "high-profile" drug-related (NDPS) cases.

One of the cases being handled by her brother was against Malik’s son-in-law,, the late M Sameer Khan, it said.

"Out of personal grudge and vengeance held against the complainant’s brother for taking legal action against his son-in-law, the accused (Malik), as a countermeasure and counterblast, started making false, defamatory and baseless allegations against the complainant and her family members,” the complaint said.

It added that the attempt was made with "malafide intention" to put pressure on the family. PTI AVI ARU