News Analysis India

Tag: Aryan Khan

  • Cruise drugs case: Aryan Khan marks his weekly presence at NCB office

    By PTI

    MUMBAI: Aryan Khan, son of Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan, on Friday appeared before the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) officials here in connection with cruise drugs case to mark his weekly presence there as instructed by the high court, sources said.

    Aryan Khan arrived at the NCB office located in Ballard Estate area of south Mumbai around 1.30 pm and left within 10 minutes, they said. This is Aryan’s third weekly appearance before the anti-drugs agency in connection with the case.

    Last week, after marking his presence at the NCB office, Aryan Khan had also appeared before the agency’s SIT from Delhi, which is now probing the case, the sources said.

    The 23-year-old son of the Bollywood superstar was arrested by the NCB on October 3 following a raid on the cruise ship off the Mumbai coast.

    The central agency had booked him under relevant sections of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act for possession, consumption, sale/purchase of banned drugs and conspiracy and abetment.

    He was granted bail by the Bombay High Court on October 28. The HC had imposed 14 bail conditions on him and his co-accused in the case, Arbaaz Merchant and Munmun Dhamecha, who were also granted bail.

    In the five-page order, the HC said the trio will have to surrender their passports before the NDPS court and shall not leave India without taking permission from the special court and will have to attend the NCB office each Friday between 11 am and 2 pm to mark their presence.

  • NCB team probing extortion claims in Aryan case records statements over dozen witnesses

    By PTI

    MUMBAI: The Special Enquiry Team (SET) of the NCB which is probing allegations of extortion attempts in the drugs case involving actor Shah Rukh Khan’s son Aryan has recorded statements of over a dozen persons so far, a senior official said on Friday.

    Deputy Director General of the Narcotics Control Bureau Gyaneshwar Singh, who is heading the vigilance inquiry, said the team was satisfied with the pace and direction of the probe.

    “We have recorded statements of 14-15 people. We are trying to complete it as early as possible, but we are waiting for some important witnesses to join the probe,” he told reporters here.

    The team has recorded statements of witness Prabhakar Sail and NCB zonal director Sameer Wankhede, among others.

    Sail, who claimed to be the bodyguard of NCB witness K P Gosavi, alleged in an affidavit last month that he had heard Gosavi discussing a Rs 25 crore pay-off deal after Aryan Khan was arrested during a raid on a cruise ship off the Mumbai coast.

    He also claimed that Gosavi had said Rs 8 crore of the deal money was to be given to Wankhede. The officer has denied the allegation.

    “We can’t give any timeline for concluding the probe, because certain things are beyond us. Let people join the investigation,” Singh said.

    The SET will examine Gosavi after he is sent in judicial custody and an application in this regard will be heard by the court on Monday, he said.

    Gosavi is currently in Pune cantonment police’s custody in a cheating case.

    Asked if the team will also record statements of Aryan and (Shah Rukh Khan’s manager) Puja Dadlani, Singh said it will speak to all people who are important for the inquiry.

    As to his meeting with Mumbai police commissioner Hemant Nagrale, he said the latter promised to cooperate in the case.

    “We have received some CCTV footage. We are waiting for some more,” he added.

  • Cruise ship raid case: Court grants bail to another accused Mohak Jaiswal in drugs case

    By PTI

    MUMBAI: A special court here on Friday granted bail to Mohak Jaiswal, who was arrested by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) in the drugs-on-cruise case in which Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan’s son Aryan is one of the accused.

    VV Patil, special judge for cases under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act cases, allowed Jaiswal’s plea after hearing extensive arguments. Jaiswal was one of the seven persons including Aryan Khan whom the NCB had apprehended on October 2 before boarding the cruise ship.

    They were later arrested under relevant provisions of the NDPS Act, including section 27A which deals with `financing’ of drug trafficking. The NCB had claimed that WhatsApp chats showed a nexus between Jaiswal and other accused with drug suppliers and peddlers.

    The bail plea said that Jaiswal was completely innocent, there was no evidence against him and the central agency has not attributed any “direct role” to him in the alleged crime. As many as 20 persons were arrested in the case, of which 12 have been granted bail by the special NDPS court while the Bombay High Court has granted bail to three others including Aryan Khan so far.

    Based on a tip-off, an NCB team raided Goa-bound Cordelia cruise off the Mumbai coast on the evening of October 2 and allegedly seized drugs.

  • Witness Prabhakar Sail appears before NCB team probing drugs-on-cruise case

    By PTI

    MUMBAI: Independent witness Prabhakar Sail on Thursday appeared before the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) in connection with the drugs-on-cruise case involving Aryan Khan, an official said.

    Sail, who has claimed to have heard about a pay-off deal to let off Aryan, actor Shah Rukh Khan’s son, in the case, was quizzed by the NCB’s vigilance team earlier.

    On Thursday, he and his lawyer Tushar Khandare reached the NCB’s south Mumbai office around 2.30 pm, said the official.

    The operational team of the NCB which has arrived here from Delhi and taken over the probe of several cases including the case involving Aryan Khan, had summoned him.

    The central agency’s vigilance team interrogated Sail for several hours on Monday and Tuesday.

    Sail, who claimed to be the bodyguard of NCB witness K P Gosavi, alleged in an affidavit last month that he had heard Gosavi discussing a Rs 25 crore pay-off deal after Aryan Khan was arrested during a raid on a cruise ship off the Mumbai coast.

    He also claimed that Gosavi had said Rs 8 crore of the deal money was to be given to the NCB’s Mumbai zonal director Sameer Wankhede.

    Following his allegations, the NCB started a vigilance inquiry.

    Wankhede denied all the allegations.

  • Pune court sends Narcotics Control Bureau witness Kiran Gosavi to judicial custody in cheating case

    By ANI

    PUNE: Narcotics Control Bureau’s (NCB) independent witness in the Mumbai cruise raid case Kiran Gosavi has been sent to judicial custody by a Pune court on Tuesday in a cheating case registered against him at Faraskhana police station. Gosavi, till now, was in police custody.

    On October 28, Gosavi, a key witness in the Mumbai cruise drugs case in which Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan’s son Aryan Khan was arrested, was held by Pune City Police in connection with a cheating case of Rs 18 lakh in the year 2018.

    He had allegedly duped one Chinmay Deshmukh, promising to get him a job in Malaysia and collected Rs 18 lakh. Deshmukh filed a complaint against Gosavi in 2018 and a chargesheet was filed in the case. Since then, he has been on the run.

    On October 31, the Pune Police had lodged one more case against Gosavi at Wanowarie Police Station for threatening a victim and on conspiracy related sections. The Pune City Police informed that Gosavi has been booked under sections 420, 409, 506(2), 120(b) of Indian Penal Code (IPC) and arms act 3(b) for threatening victim and conspiracy related sections.

  • Cruise drugs case: Witness Prabhakar Sail appears before NCB vigilance team for second day

    By PTI

    MUMBAI: Prabhakar Sail, an independent witness, appeared before the Narcotics Control Bureau’s Delhi vigilance team here for the second day on Tuesday in connection with its probe into the pay-off allegations in the cruise drugs case in which Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan’s son Aryan Khan is an accused, an NCB official said.

    Sail was on Monday questioned by the NCB for over 10 hours.

    NCB’s Deputy Director General (northern region) Gyaneshwar Singh, who is heading the vigilance team, earlier said Sail was called again on Tuesday for questioning.

    Accordingly, Sail reached the Central Reserve Police Force’s (CRPF) mess in suburban Bandra around 11.55 am along with his lawyer Tushar Khandare, an NCB official said.

    The NCB’s vigilance team, headed by Singh, who is also chief vigilance officer (CVO) of the federal anti-narcotics agency, had reached here from Delhi on Monday morning.

    Sail, who claims to be the bodyguard of NCB witness KP Gosavi, last month alleged in an affidavit that he had heard Gosavi discussing a Rs 25 crore pay-off deal after Aryan Khan was arrested by the NCB.

    Sail claimed that Gosavi had said Rs 8 crore of the deal money was to be given to NCB’s Mumbai zonal director Sameer Wankhede.

    Following Sail’s allegations, the NCB had ordered a vigilance inquiry against the anti-drugs agency officials and others.

    Wankhede had denied the allegations against him.

    Last month, a vigilance team led by Singh came to Mumbai to probe the allegations of extortion, but had then failed to record Sail’s statement.

    It had at that time recorded statements of eight persons, including Wankhede, and collected some important documents and recordings related to the cruise drugs case, an official earlier said.

  • Maharashtra minister Aslam Shaikh denies knowing Kashif Khan, says cruise party invite was just like other events

    By PTI

    MUMBAI: Maharashtra minister and Congress leader Aslam Shaikh on Monday said he was invited by one Kashif Khan to the cruise party on October 2, which was busted by the Narcotics Control Bureau, leading to the arrest of Aryan Khan, son of actor Shah Rukh Khan.

    Shaikh’s reaction comes a day after his cabinet colleague and NCP minister Nawab Malik claimed that Kashif Khan, an organiser of the cruise party, had tried hard to get Shaikh and children of top ministers of the state government to attend that party.

    Malik has been spearheading the Maha Vikas Aghadi government’s attack on the Centre and the NCB, calling its drug raid “fake”.

    “I don’t know the individual called Kashif (Khan) nor have I met him before. As the guardian minister of Mumbai, I get invited to various events. This was one of the invites,” Shaikh told reporters.

    He said two agencies, the NCB and the Mumbai Police, are probing this case.

    “As far as I can recollect, I don’t remember speaking to Kashif on my mobile phone. It cannot be possible that I will have Kashif’s mobile number because I don’t know Kashif and he doesn’t know me. He met at someplace (function) and he invited me and the matter got over,” Shaikh added.

    Targeting the BJP and the Centre, Shaikh added that concerted attempts are made to defame the Maharashtra government and its ministers since the tripartite MVA was formed nearly two years ago.

    Shaikh said while all the focus has been on the drug cruise raid, similar attention is not given to the multi-crore drug seizure in Gujarat in September.

  • Cruise drugs case: NCB vigilance team summonses independent witness Prabhakar Sail on Monday

    By PTI

    MUMBAI: The Narcotics Control Bureau’s (NCB) Delhi vigilance team, probing the pay-off allegations in the Cordelia cruise drugs case in which Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan’s son Aryan Khan is an accused, has summoned independent witness Prabhakar Sail on Monday for recording his statement, an official said on Sunday.

    He said the NCB issued summons to Sail on Sunday.

    He has been directed to appear before the vigilance team at 2 PM on Monday.

    The official said the vigilance team comprising seven officers will reach Mumbai on Monday morning from Delhi.

    The team will record the statement of Sail at the Central Reserve Police Force’s (CRPF) mess in suburban Bandra.

    Sail, who claims to be the bodyguard of NCB witness K P Gosavi, had last month claimed in an affidavit that he had heard Gosavi discussing a Rs 25 crore pay-off deal after Aryan Khan was arrested by the NCB.

    Sail claimed that Gosavi had said that Rs 8 crore of the deal money was to be given to NCB Mumbai zonal director Sameer Wankhede.

    Sail’s allegations had prompted the NCB to order a vigilance inquiry against NCB officials and others. Wankhede had denied the allegations against him.

    Last month, the vigilance team, headed by NCB Deputy Director General (northern region) Gyaneshwar Singh, had come to Mumbai to probe the allegations of extortion but failed to record Sail’s statement. Singh is also the chief vigilance officer (CVO) of the federal anti-narcotics agency.

    Before leaving for Delhi, the team had recorded statements of eight persons, including Wankhede, and collected some important documents and recordings related to the cruise drugs case, an official had said.

    Meanwhile, the Delhi NCB SIT, which recently took over the investigation into the cruise drugs case, visited the Cordelia cruise ship where the party was organised on October 2.

    The cruise ship is docked at the Mumbai cruise terminal.

    The SIT is headed by the senior IPS officer and DDG Operations at NCB headquarters, Sanjay Singh.

  • Cruise drugs case: NCB vigilance team summons independent witness Prabhakar Sail on Monday

    By PTI

    MUMBAI: The Narcotics Control Bureau’s (NCB) Delhi vigilance team, probing the pay-off allegations in the Cordelia cruise drugs case in which Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan’s son Aryan Khan is an accused, has summoned independent witness Prabhakar Sail on Monday for recording his statement, an official said on Sunday.

    He said the NCB issued summons to Sail on Sunday.

    He has been directed to appear before the vigilance team at 2 PM on Monday.

    The official said the vigilance team comprising seven officers will reach Mumbai on Monday morning from Delhi.

    The team will record the statement of Sail at the Central Reserve Police Force’s (CRPF) mess in suburban Bandra.

    Sail, who claims to be the bodyguard of NCB witness K P Gosavi, had last month claimed in an affidavit that he had heard Gosavi discussing a Rs 25 crore pay-off deal after Aryan Khan was arrested by the NCB.

    Sail claimed that Gosavi had said that Rs 8 crore of the deal money was to be given to NCB Mumbai zonal director Sameer Wankhede.

    Sail’s allegations had prompted the NCB to order a vigilance inquiry against NCB officials and others. Wankhede had denied the allegations against him.

    Last month, the vigilance team, headed by NCB Deputy Director General (northern region) Gyaneshwar Singh, had come to Mumbai to probe the allegations of extortion but failed to record Sail’s statement. Singh is also the chief vigilance officer (CVO) of the federal anti-narcotics agency.

    Before leaving for Delhi, the team had recorded statements of eight persons, including Wankhede, and collected some important documents and recordings related to the cruise drugs case, an official had said.

    Meanwhile, the Delhi NCB SIT, which recently took over the investigation into the cruise drugs case, visited the Cordelia cruise ship where the party was organised on October 2.

    The cruise ship is docked at the Mumbai cruise terminal.

    The SIT is headed by the senior IPS officer and DDG Operations at NCB headquarters, Sanjay Singh.

  • Cruise drugs case: Aryan Khan skips NCB SIT’s summons citing fever

    By PTI

    MUMBAI: Aryan Khan, son of Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan, was summoned by the Special Investigation Team (SIT) of the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) on Sunday in connection with the cruise drugs case, but he failed to appear before it citing fever, an official said.

    The anti-drug agency’s SIT on Sunday asked Aryan Khan to appear before it the same day, the NCB official said.

    “But he did not appear before the SIT officials citing fever,” he added.

    The SIT, headed by the NCB’s senior officer Sanjay Kumar Singh, reached Mumbai on Saturday, a day after the agency transferred to it the investigation in six cases, including the controversial cruise drugs case.

    The NCB had arrested Aryan Khan and at least 19 others in the cruise drugs case last month and the agency’s Mumbai zonal director Sameer Wankhede has been facing a departmental vigilance probe after an independent witness in this case alleged an extortion bid by those involved in the investigation.

    Aryan Khan was released on bail on October 30.

    On Friday, he had appeared visited the NCB office here to mark his weekly presence as per the bail conditions set by the Bombay High Court.

    It was Aryan Khan’s first appearance at the NCB office after his release from the Arthur Road prison.

    In its order, the high court had said that Aryan Khan, Arbaaz Merchant and Munmun Dhamecha, his co-accused who were also released on bail, will have to surrender their passports before the NDPS court and shall not leave India without taking permission from the special court.

    Besides, they have to attend the NCB office each Friday between 11 am and 2 pm to mark their presence.