Sameer Wankhede's bar licence cancelled
Thane(PTI): The Thane district collector has cancelled the licence granted to a Navi Mumbai-based hotel and bar owned by former NCB Mumbai zonal director Sameer Wankhede, officials said on Wednesday.
The licence was obtained by misrepresentation and fraud, Collector Rajesh Narvekar said in an order on Tuesday.
A senior Excise official told PTI that his department will now seal the bar and seize the stock.
Maharashtra cabinet minister Nawab Malik had in November last year claimed that Wankhede owned a permit room and bar at Vashi in Navi Mumbai, the licence for which was obtained in 1997 when he was a minor, and that this was illegal.
Malik had also said that despite being in a government job, Wankhede held a licence to operate the permit room which was against service rules. Wankhede had then denied the minister's claims.
The state Excise department had subsequently issued a notice to Wankhede in connection with the bar licence obtained by him.
Following his response and examination of the matter, the district collector concluded that Wankhede had obtained the licence on October 27,1997, when he was less than 18 years old, as against the permissible age of 21, an official said.
Section 54 of the Prohibition Act has been invoked for the cancellation of the licence, as per the order.
Malik had levelled a series of allegations against Wankhede, after the latter led a raid on a cruise ship in October last year and claimed to have seized drugs onboard. Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan's son Aryan Khan and some others were accused in the drugs-on-cruise case.
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Thumbay Group begins work on Sharjah’s first private integrated psychiatric, rehabilitation hospital
Sharjah: Thumbay Group has laid the foundation stone for the Thumbay Psychiatric and Rehabilitation Hospital at Sharjah Healthcare City, a 120-bed facility that the company says will be the region’s first private, fully integrated hospital dedicated to psychiatric care, neuro-rehabilitation and addiction recovery.
The groundbreaking ceremony was led by Dr. Abdelaziz Saeed Al Mheiri, who is also a member of the Sharjah Executive Council, in the presence of Dr. Thumbay Moideen.
Spread across 110,000 square feet, the hospital is being developed to address growing demand for specialised mental health and rehabilitation services in the UAE and the wider Gulf region.
The facility will include inpatient and outpatient services in psychiatry, neuro-rehabilitation, addiction treatment, child and adolescent mental health, and care for mood and anxiety disorders. It will also feature VIP inpatient villas designed to provide privacy and support long-term recovery.
A mosque, named the Thumbay Masjid, will be constructed within the campus and will be open to the public.
The hospital is being designed to meet standards for Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities (CARF), an internationally recognised accreditation system for rehabilitation facilities.
Speaking at the event, Dr. Abdelaziz Saeed Al Mheiri said the project reflects Sharjah’s commitment to strengthening healthcare infrastructure in all aspects of wellbeing.
“Mental health and rehabilitation have long needed dedicated infrastructure, and we are proud to support a private partner whose vision matches the ambition of this Emirate,” he said.
Dr. Thumbay Moideen said the project was a response to a growing need for specialised mental healthcare services in the region.
“We have spent over three decades building healthcare in this region, and the one conversation that has grown louder every year is mental health. Families have been carrying this quietly for too long. This hospital is our answer. It is purpose-built, not retrofitted, and it has been designed around dignity, recovery, and outcomes that families can trust,” he said.
Construction is scheduled to begin in June 2026, and the hospital is expected to become operational by mid-2027.
Once completed, the facility will become part of Thumbay Group’s network of healthcare, education and diagnostic institutions across the UAE.
