No evidence against Aryan Khan to connect him to drug case conspiracy: Reports
Story highlights
Aryan Khan and his friend Arbaaz Merchant were arrested by the NCB in relation to a drugs raid case by the NCB in October 2021.
The Special Investigation Team (SIT) of Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) has found no evidence against Aryan Khan, son of Bollywood star Shah Rukh Khan, that would link him to a larger drugs conspiracy or an international drugs trafficking syndicate, an Indian newspaper reported citing sources.
Sources close to the case told Hindustan Times that Aryan Khan was never in possession of drugs and therefore taking his phone and checking chats was not needed as was done by the NCB's Mumbai unit.
Aryan Khan and his friend Arbaaz Merchant were arrested by the NCB in relation to a drugs raid case by the NCB in October 2021. The two youngsters were reportedly arrested while they were on their way to a cruise liner for a private party where raids had been conducted by the NCB. Aryan and Arbaaz were then sent to judicial custody and remained in jail for 28 days before they were released on bail.
The HT report states that Aryan's chats on phone did not suggest that he was a part of any international syndicate. The raid was also not video-recorded as mandated by the NCB manual and the drugs recovered from multiple accused arrested in the case were allegedly shown as single recovery.
The SIT is yet to submit its final report to the NCB Director General SN Pradhan. A legal opinion will be taken before the final decision is taken and announced especially with regards to Aryan on whether he would be charged for consumption of drugs even though he was not carrying any at the time of his arrest.
The SIT's finding though raises questions about the said raid which was led by the agency's former Mumbai Zonal Unit director Sameer Wankhede.
Wankhede, who has since been repatriated to his parent cadre, has been questioned multiple times – both by the SIT and the agency’s vigilance team -- to get to the truth in the case.
On October 2, 2021, Wankhede led a team of officers and some 'witnesses' to raid a luxury cruise off the coast of Mumbai. NCB reportedly had seized 13 grams of cocaine, five grams of mephedrone, 21 grams of marijuana, 22 pills of MDMA (Ecstasy), and Rs 1.33 lakh in cash from a cruise liner where a private party was being held.
