Aryan Khan, the son of Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan, did not get bail on Monday (4 October) following his arrest in the Mumbai drugs-on-cruise case.
A Mumbai court ordered the 23-year-old to be held in the custody of the anti-drugs agency Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) till Thursday. Shah Rukh and Gauri Khan, Aryan Khan’s parents, did not appear at the bail hearing.
Judge, while extending the custody of Aryan Khan along with seven others, said, “Investigation is of prime importance and it needs to be carried out. It benefits both accused and investigator.”
When the judge revealed the decision, Aryan Khan remained collected, while his friends Arbaaz Merchant and Munmun Dhamecha sobbed.
Background
Aryan Khan, along with his friends were arrested on Sunday when the anti-drugs agency raided a rave party on the “Cordelia “cruise traveling from Mumbai to Goa on Saturday evening.
As a result of the raids, the following drugs were found:
- 13 grams of cocaine.
- 21 grams of charas.
- 22 pills of MDMA.
- 5 grams of MD.
According to the Press Trust of India, the drugs were discovered hidden in garments, underwear, and purses.
The agency informed the court that it required Aryan Khan’s detention until October 11 (Monday week) to question him. The investigation, according to the Narcotics Control Bureau, concerns an international narcotics gang. The agency said, “Unless we investigate the consumer how do we know who the supplier is, who is financing it.”
The lawyer of the agency told the court that “Links in the form of chats etc. show the involvement of international cartel. It is a group of persons, like a gang.” He added that code names were also found in the chats of Aryan Khan and there were also links of bank and cash transfers that had to be verified.
Aryan Khan said that he was a special invitee to the cruise and that he “cannot be dragged into the entire seizure in the case.” He also added that the investigators did not find anything in his bag, but they found a small quantity with Arbaaz Merchant.
He further stated that the officials had only discovered chats on his phone, and that “WhatsApp communications with no recovery” are of no consequence.
Senior lawyer Satish Maneshinde, appearing for Aryan Khan said, “In my entire stay aboard I have not been involved in any drug usage.”
Aryan Khan said, “One of the grounds for asking my custody is the seizure of commercial quantity from other accused. Commercial quantity seized from other accused cannot be foisted on me. They are talking about international drug trafficking which is a very serious charge and has to be backed by evidence.”
Aryan Khan has been charged with purchasing, possessing, and using illegal narcotics.
The lawyer of Munmun Dhamecha’s, Ali Kashif Khan Deshmukh, said “She has no connection with the accused and the drugs the NCB claims to have seized were found on the ground and not on her person. She has no contact with the other accused and knows accused number 1 only as a celebrity. She is from Madhya Pradesh and came here for a job and got arrested. That’s why she broke down when she saw her brother.”
