‘Nikah wouldn’t have been performed if': What Qazi says on Sameer Wankhede's 1st marriage

Maulana Mujammil Ahmed, the Qazi who claimed to have performed the first marriage of Sameer Wankhede with Shabana Quraishi said at the time of the wedding, Sameer Wankhede belonged to a Muslim family. Otherwise, the 'nikah' would not have been solemnised as per Islam, news agency PTI reported.

“I had performed the 'nikah' of Sameer Wankhede and Shabana Quraishi. Her father had approached me to perform the marriage in the Lokhandwala complex area of Mumbai. The groom's name was Sameer Dawood Wankhede who married Shabana Quraishi," the Qazi told a news channel, according to PTI. He also claimed that the "Mehar" amount mentioned in the nikah-nama was ₹33,000. "Mehar" in Islam is a security deposit which signifies a contract made by the groom and his family to his bride at the time of their nikkah.

What is the controversy over Sameer Wankhende's 1st marriage? 5 points

The NCB officer's first marriage is in the news after Maharashtra minister Nawab Malik on Wednesday claimed that Sameer Wankhede's first marriage was performed according to Islamic rituals. Earlier, Nawab Malik claimed Sameer Wankhede is Muslim, which Wankhede refuted claiming that he is from a multi-religious family, where his father is Hindu and his mother was a Muslim.

After the minister posted the purported photos of the 'nikah', Wankhede said his first marriage was under the Islamic ritual as that was his mother's wish. He never converted to Islam and that's why after the 'nikah', they got their marriage registered under the Special Marriage Act.

"Fulfilling the wish of one's mother in a secular country is not a crime. I am proud of secularism in our country. My mother was a Muslim and my father is a Hindu. I love both of them very much," Wankhede said.

In the same year of his first marriage, he got divorced and the divorce too was completed under the Special Marriage Act.

“I do not understand Urdu, hence I am not aware what my name was written in their documents (nikah nama). She (my late wife) might have mentioned my name as Dawood affectionately. People do call each other with different names out of love,” Wankhede's father Dnyandev Wankhede said.

The Special Marriage Act has the provision for interfaith marriages. Had Sameer Wankhede already converted to Islam, then there was no need for the Special Marriage Act, Sameer's wife Kranti Redkar said on Wednesday.

Apart from the allegation of extortion, Sameer Wankhede is now accused of forging documents to get the SC quota in UPSC.

(With agency inputs)