Shah Rukh Khan’s son Aryan Khan, 7 others in court today. What his lawyer said
Eight people, including actor Shah Rukh Khan’s son Aryan Khan, arrested by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) for possessing drugs after a late-night raid on a cruise ship will be produced before a court in Mumbai on Monday after their medical examination, officials have said.
On Sunday, Aryan Khan and two other accused—his friend Arbaaz Merchant and fashion designer Munmun Dhamecha and—were produced before a magistrate’s court which has remanded them to NCB custody till Monday. Nupur Satija, Ishmeet Singh Chadha, Mohak Jaiswal, Gomit Chopra and Vikrant Chhokar are the other accused.
The 23-year-old Aryan Khan was arrested on Sunday afternoon for alleged possession and consumption of illegal drugs. The NCB has registered a case under several sections of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985, after officers seized 13 gm of cocaine, 21gm of charas or hashish, 22 pills of MDMA (ecstasy), 5gm mephedrone and cash worth ₹1.33 lakh at International Cruise Terminal, Green Gate Mumbai.
Aryan Khan’s lawyer Satish Maneshinde said in the court he was invited to the cruise party. “However, he did not have a boarding pass. He didn’t have any seats or cabins there. Secondly, according to the seizure, nothing has been found in his possession. He is arrested only based on chats,” Maneshinde said. Maneshinde has said he will file Aryan Khan’s bail application on Monday before the regular court.
The NCB raided a Goa-bound cruise ship off the Mumbai coast on Saturday night and busted a party where drugs were being used. “Khan and others were on the cruise ship where the agency busted a rave party,” NCB zonal director Sameer Wankhede said.
A Delhi-based event company is believed to have organised the parties on passenger cruise ships on October 2, 3 and 4. The cruise ship was scheduled to go to Goa on Saturday night and return to Mumbai by Monday.
The NCB also recorded the statement of Jurgen Bailom, the president and CEO of Cordelia Cruise. “The agency called us to understand the procedure of crew operation and we are cooperating with the NCB. There were around 1,000 passengers when the ship left from the Mumbai coast,” Bailom said. “Our ship has not been detained, it has gone for its destination and will return on Monday. We were not aware of the guests who were on the ship as organisers are different,” he added.
The NCB chief SN Pradhan said on Sunday that the bureau is looking at a ‘Bollywood connection’ and a larger nexus of narcotics. “There is a Bollywood connection and we are investigating all angles of the case. We are looking at the main supplier and the entire cartel behind this drugs case,” Pradhan told PTI, adding that the agency will “carry out its probe in a professional manner”.