No Bail For Aryan Khan In Drugs-On-Cruise Case, Next Stop High Court

Aryan Khan’s bail was rejected again by a court in Mumbai today in the drugs-on-cruise case, in which he was arrested on October 3.

The 23-year-old son of superstar Shah Rukh Khan – “Accused No. 1” in the case – has been in Mumbai’s Arthur Road jail since October 8 and will remain there for now.

His lawyers will approach the Bombay High Court for bail.

Aryan Khan, his friend Arbaaz Merchant and model Munmun Dhamecha, and five others were arrested after disguised officers of the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) raided a rave party on a cruise ship off Mumbai on October 2. Since then, the number of arrests has gone up to 20.

Aryan Khan’s lawyers Satish Maneshinde and Amit Desai argued in court that no drugs were found on him. The anti-drugs agency, however, claimed strong evidence from the star son’s WhatsApp chats that he had links with an international cartel and had sourced drugs for years.

The saga of Aryan Khan’s arrest and repeated bail hearings – deferred once due to court holidays – is seen by many in a shell-shocked film industry as inexplicable and a sign of celebrities being targeted.

Shah Rukh Khan and Gauri Khan, who spoke to their jailed son on video call last Friday, have not made any public statement till now.

Actors like Salman Khan and Hrithik Roshan, and filmmakers including Farah Khan and Prakash Jha have come out in support of the Khans.

The drugs case has also ignited a political row with the Maharashtra government accusing the NCB of going after specific individuals on orders from the Centre.

The BJP, on the other hand, alleges that Maharashtra’s ruling Shiv Sena and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) have stakes in the so-called Bollywood-drugs mafia.

The anti-drugs agency has previously questioned many stars on drugs allegations linked to the investigations into the shocking death of Sushant Singh Rajput last year.