Mumbai cruise drugs case: Ananya Pandey summoned by NCB again today

Bollywood actor Ananya Pandey has been summoned by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) on Monday for the third round of questioning in connection with the Mumbai drugs-on-cruise case. Ananya was questioned by the agency on Friday for over four hours.

Last Thursday, Ananya was questioned for more than two hours by the NCB in the drugs-on-cruise case after her name allegedly cropped up in WhatsApp chats during the agency’s probe in the case in which Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan’s son Aryan Khan and others have been arrested. An official speaking on condition of anonymity told Hindustan Times that Ananya maintained that she has never used any narcotics and the chats with Aryan Khan were in a light vein.

On Wednesday, the NCB raided Ananya’s house in Mumbai’s Bandra before sending her a summon to appear before it later in the day to record her statement. The NCB officials seized her laptop and mobile phone during the raid. The actor then reached the NCB office along with her actor father Chunkey Pandey at around 4pm.

Aryan Khan was arrested following a raid on a cruise ship anchored at the International Cruise Terminal in Mumbai on October 2. The cruise ship was on its way to Goa when NCB searched the guests and arrested Aryan, Arbaaz Merchant and others.

Last Wednesday, a special court under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act denied bail to Aryan, saying there was prima facie evidence that he was indulging in “illicit drug activities” on a regular basis, and could commit a similar offence if released.

Aryan is presently lodged in Mumbai’s Arthur Road central prison. His father Shah Rukh Khan met him at the prison last Thursday, the first time since his arrest.