News Analysis India

Tag: Aryan Khan

  • Aryan Khan moves Bombay HC against bail denial by NDPS court, hearing on Thursday

    By PTI

    MUMBAI: Aryan Khan, the son of Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan, approached the Bombay High Court on Wednesday, seeking bail in connection with the case of seizure of banned drugs aboard a cruise ship off the Mumbai coast.

    Earlier in the day, Aryan Khan’s bail plea was rejected by a special NDPS court here. His advocates then immediately filed an appeal in the HC, challenging the lower court’s order.

    A special court here on Wednesday refused to grant bail to Aryan Khan, son of Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan, and two others in connection with the seizure of banned drugs on board a cruise ship off the Mumbai coast.

    Special Judge V V Patil, designated to hear cases related to the Narcotics Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, rejected the bail pleas of Aryan Khan, his friend Arbaaz Merchant and fashion model Munmun Dhamecha.

    ALSO READ : Aryan Khan speaks to parents via video call from jail; gets Rs 4,500 via money-order

    The appeal is likely to be mentioned by Aryan Khan’s lawyers on Thursday before a single bench of Justice N W Sambre.

    The bail pleas of Aryan Khan, his friend Arbaaz Merchant and fashion model Munmun Dhamecha were rejected by the special court on Wednesday afternoon.

    They were arrested by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) on October 3 and are presently in judicial custody.

  • Cruise drugs case: Special court refuses bail to Aryan Khan

    By PTI

    A special court here on Wednesday refused to grant bail to Aryan Khan, son of Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan, and two others in connection with the seizure of banned drugs on board a cruise ship off the Mumbai coast.

    Special Judge V V Patil, designated to hear cases related to the Narcotics Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, rejected the bail pleas of Aryan Khan, his friend Arbaaz Merchant and fashion model Munmun Dhamecha.

    Aryan Khan, Merchant and Dhamecha were arrested by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) on October 3 for alleged conspiracy, possession, consumption, purchase and trafficking of drugs.

    The trio is presently in judicial custody.

    While Aryan Khan and Merchant are lodged at the Arthur Road prison in Mumbai, Dhamecha is lodged at the Byculla women’s prison here.

    Aryan Khan and others accused in the case have been booked for offences under Sections 8(c), 20(b), 27, 28, 29 and 35 of the NDPS Act.

  • Cruise drugs case: Shiv Sena leader moves SC seeking judicial enquiry into affairs of NCB at Mumbai

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: A Shiv Sena leader has moved the Supreme Court seeking judicial enquiry into affairs of Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) at Mumbai and its officials in the wake of the arrest of Aryan Khan, son of Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan in a case of alleged seizure of drugs from a cruise ship in Mumbai.

    The petition has urged the apex court to take suo moto cognizance to protect the fundamental rights of Aryan who has been booked under the NDPS Act by NCB, Zonal Office, Mumbai.

    “I would like to point out towards the malafide style, approach and dirty vendetta affairs of NCB at Mumbai and it’s officials targeting select film celebrity & few models since last two years and would like to request Your Honour to order to institute special judicial investigation & enquiry to unearth the role of NCB official,” the plea filed by Mumbai-based Shiv Sena leader Kishore Tiwari said.

    Referring to the statement of NCP leader and Maharashtra Minister Nawab Malik in which he had cast aspersions on NCB, the plea said it’s high time the NCB is probed by a top court judge to unravel the truth.

    Aryan is currently lodged in Arthur Road prison in central Mumbai in the case of alleged seizure of drugs from a cruise ship.

    Based on a tip-off that a rave party was scheduled on the ship, an NCB team raided the Goa-bound Cordelia cruise on October 2 evening and allegedly seized drugs, and later made the arrests. 

  • Aryan Khan linked to international drug network, involved in drug trafficking: NCB

    By Express News Service

    MUMBAI:  Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan’s son Aryan Khan is linked to the international drug network and is involved in drug trafficking as well as consumption, the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) told a Mumbai court on Wednesday.

    The submissions were made before Special Judge V V Patil, designated to hear matters related to the NDPS Act, during the hearing of the bail plea filed by Aryan and the co-accused. The NCB said the initial probe had revealed that Aryan was in touch with some persons abroad who appeared to be a part of an international drug network for illicit procurement.

    “The investigation requires sufficient time to properly investigate the said linkages so as to approach the concerned foreign agency through a proper channel,” the agency argued. Prima facie, there was sufficient material in the form of WhatsApp chats and pictures etc. to show that Khan was an active part of the illicit drug chain along with others.

    Calling the NCB’s charge “inherently absurd”, senior advocate Amit Desai said no drugs were found on Aryan. “They are some young kids. In many countries these substances are legal. Let us not penalise (them) in bail… They have suffered enough,” he said. The court will continue the hearing on Thursday.

  • Maharashtra govt intensifies NCP minister Nawab Malik’s security after threat calls over his ‘NCB expose’

    Express News Service

    MUMBAI: Following a big expose on the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) by Nawab Malik, the Maharashtra government on Thursday intensified the security cover of the NCP minister.

    Confirming the development, Malik stated that he started receiving threat calls soon after he revealed the involvement of private citizen KP Gosavi and BJP leader Manish Bhanushali in the NCB’s cruise party raid. “I am getting calls on my office phone where they threaten to murder me. After bringing this to the notice of the home department, my security cover was increased,” Malik said. 

    NCP spokesperson Nawab Malik has been at the forefront to expose the alleged misconduct of the NCB during the Cruise Party raids. The NCB and its officers have been in the spotlight ever since Malik has made big revelations with documents, videos and CCTV footage in the last few days. He has alleged that the NCB has been targetting people with malafide intentions and are working on the behest of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Earlier, Malik had revealed that Rishab Sachdeva, the brother-in-law of former Mumbai Youth BJP president Mohit Kamboj aka Bhartiya had also attended the cruise party. Sachdeva along with two others was detained but later released after phone calls were received from Mumbai and Delhi. 

    The NCB director Sameer Wankhede, however, has denied all the charges and clarified that the raids were carried out as per prevailing protocol. 

    Referring to his son-in-law Sameer Khan, who was recently granted bail in a drugs case, the NCP spokesperson said that the bail order exposes NCB’s false claims. “It (NCB) said ganja was seized (in the case involving Sameer Khan), but there was none. The news channels also maligned us. but the chargesheet and the Panchanama report mentioned nothing like this. I just had to make things clear today after the bail order, since the BJP was targeting me over my son-in-law when I raised issues about the NCB’s fake case of the cruise drug party,” the NCP leader said.

  • NCB has ‘malafide intentions’, making ‘selective leaks’: Maharashtra minister Nawab Malik

    By PTI

    MUMBAI: Against the backdrop of various raids conducted by the NCB, including on some high-profile people, Maharashtra minister and NCP spokesperson Nawab Malik on Thursday alleged that the anti-drugs agency has “malafide intentions” and is involved in “selective leaks” to frame people.

    Addressing a press conference, Malik also said that his son-in-law Sameer Khan, who was recently granted bail in a drugs case after nine months, will move the high court to seek quashing of charges levelled against him by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB).

    Khan was arrested by the NCB in January this year in an alleged drug case. He got bail last month.

    Apart from the recent drugs bust onboard a cruise liner off the Mumbai coast, that led to the arrest of Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan’s son Aryan Khan, the NCB last year investigated a drug case linked to the death of actor Sushant Singh Rajput and several other matters related to narcotics involving high-profile people.

    Malik last week alleged that the NCB’s raid on the cruise ship off the Mumbai coast on October 2 was “fake”, and no narcotic drugs were found during it. On Wednesday, the minister alleged that the “NCB has malafide intentions and is involved in only selective leaks to frame people”.

    He also said that his security was beefed up after he started getting “threats” when he raised doubts over the NCB’s investigations. Referring to the bail order issued by an NDPS court in connection with the case involving his son-in-law Sameer Khan, Malik said there was “no prima facie evidence of a drug syndicate”.

    It is surprising that an agency like the NCB cannot differentiate between drugs which fall under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act and tobacco-related items, the NCP leader said. “It (NCB) said ganja was seized (in the case involving Sameer Khan), but there was none. I just had to make things clear today after the bail order, since the BJP was targeting me over my son-in-law when I raised issues about the NCB’s fake case of the cruise drug party,” the NCP leader said.

    Malik also claimed his family faced trauma and stigma due to the NCB.

  • Drugs case: Pune Police issues lookout notice for man in viral selfie with Aryan Khan at NCB office

    By ANI

    NEW DELHI: Pune City Police has issued a lookout notice for Kiran Gosavi, the man who made headlines after he was seen accosting Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan’s son Aryan Khan at Narcotics Control Bureau’s (NCB) office in a viral selfie.

    City police commissioner Amitabh Gupta said that the lookout notice was issued on Wednesday and bars him from going outside the country. Police informed that Gosavi is wanted in a case registered with Pune city police in 2018, wherein a chargesheet has been submitted to the court.

    Gosavi was the witness in the NCB raid on the cruise ship off the Mumbai coast on October 2. Maharashtra minister and NCP leader Nawab Malik had raised objections to Gosavi’s presence at the NCB office after the arrest of Aryan Khan in the drugs case.

    Meanwhile, the NCB had clarified that Gosavi was not an officer or employee of the agency. A case was registered against Gosavi with Faraskhana police station of Pune city on May 19, 2018 for allegedly committing fraud by promising a person a job in Malaysia by taking money.

    However, he neither returned the money nor offered the job to the complainant. The accused was booked under sections 419, 420 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) along with relevant sections of the Intellectual Technology (IT) Act. Chargesheet was filed in the court as the accused was not found. He is still wanted in the case.

  • Lawyer files complaint before Mumbai police commissioner against five in cruise drug bust case

    By ANI

    MUMBAI: A Mumbai-based lawyer has filed a written complaint before the Mumbai Police Commissioner Hemant Nagrale against five persons for their suspicious role in the Mumbai cruise party case.

    The complaint filed by Advocate Kanishk Jayant alleged criminal conspiracy by the five persons – KP Gosavi, Manish Bhanushali, Amir Furniturewala, Prateek Gaba and Rushab Sachdeva- and requested the Police Commissioner Nagrale to file FIR for extortion and their suspicious role in Cordelia Cruise Drug Case.

    The complaint had been filed before the Mumbai police commissioner and at Yellow Gate police station.

    ALSO READ | Maharashtra government hasn’t asked cops to keep eye on NCB official Wankhede: Minister

    The complainant asked “who has authorized Gosavi and Bhanushali to take physical custody of any citizen of India and manhandle an unsuspecting citizen on behalf of the Narcotic Control Bureau?”

    “Has Sameer Wankhede authorized KP Gosavi and Manish Bhanushali to take physical custody of Aryan Shah Rukh Khan and Arbaaz Merchant,” asked the complaint.

    “What prompted the NCB to release Rishabh Sachdeva, Pratik Gaba and Amir Furniturewala?” added the complaint.

    “Who allowed Rishabh Sachdeva’s father and uncle as categorically narrated by Nawab Malik, a senior cabinet minister of Maharashtra Government in his various press briefings?” the complainant asked.

    The evidence submitted by Nawab Malik in his press briefings has all the ingredients of a serious offence that is cognizable and non-bailable.

    ALSO READ | Cruise drugs case: Special court seeks NCB’s reply to Aryan Khan’s bail application; to hear plea on October 13

    The complaint stated that the object of filing a complaint against these five persons is to unearth the truth and to ensure that no unauthorized person can take physical custody of a fellow citizen in an unlawful manner.

    Earlier in October, Bhartiya Janta Party worker Manish Bhanushali accepted that he was the one who was seen escorting Arbaz Merchant, out of the International Cruise Terminal, as claimed by Maharashtra Cabinet Minister and the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Nawab Malik, but clarified that he holds no official position in the party.

    Citing a video in which those detained from the Mumbai cruise were seen being taken to the NCB office, Mallik alleged that “the person taking him (Aryan Khan) to the office is a BJP leader Manish Bhanushali.”

    Malik had alleged that the NCB raid onboard a Mumbai cruise was “forgery”, and that BJP had misused the central agency to frame Aryan Khan.

    He had also alleged that “not even a single gram of drug was seized on the cruise or at the terminal.”

    Eight persons including Aryan Khan, Arbaz Seth Merchant, Munmun Dhamecha, Vikrant Chhoker, Ismeet Singh, Nupur Sarika, Gomit Chopra and Mohak Jaswal were produced before Mumbai’s Esplanade Court on Monday which remanded them to Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) custody till October 7.

    An NCB team busted an alleged drugs party on the Cordelia Cruise ship which was on its way to Goa at mid-sea on Saturday night.

  • ‘WhatsApp chat used to tangle me in drug case’, says Aryan Khan in plea

    By Express News Service

    MUMBAI: There is no immediate relief in sight for Bollywood superstar Shahrukh Khan’s son Aryan Khan in the drugs case.  With a Mumbai special court granting two more days to the Narcotic Control Bureau (NCB) to file its reply on the bail of the three accused — including Aryan Khan, Arbaz Merchant and Munmum Dhamecha — the bail pleas will be heard on Wednesday.

    Aryan Khan who is accused number one, in his bail application in special court stated that he was falsely implicated in this entire case. “The embargo for bail under section 37 of the NDPS Act would not apply as no recoveries were made from him and all the allegations pertain only to small quantity,” his bail application stated.

    Aryan Khan’s plea states that the prosecution is relying solely upon certain alleged WhatsApp chats to entangle him in the present proceedings, without the veracity or accuracy of the chats being established.

  • Cruise drugs case: Special court seeks NCB’s reply to Aryan Khan’s bail application; to hear plea on October 13

    By PTI

    MUMBAI: A special court here Monday directed the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) to file its reply on October 13 to a bail plea filed by Aryan Khan, son of Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan, arrested in connection with the seizure of banned drugs on board a cruise ship off the Mumbai coast.

    Special Judge V V Patil, hearing matters related to the Narcotics Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, said it would hear the bail plea on Wednesday (October 13).

    Aryan Khan was arrested on October 3. He is currently in judicial custody and lodged at the Arthur Road prison in Mumbai.

    ALSO READ: NCB questions Aryan Khan’s driver in connection with drugs-on-cruise case

    He approached the special court for bail after his plea for the same was rejected by a magistrate’s court last week on the ground that it did not have the jurisdiction to decide the matter.

    On Monday, when Aryan Khan’s counsel Amit Desai mentioned the bail plea, NCB’s advocates A M Chimalkar and Advait Sethna sought a week’s time to respond and file their affidavit.

    They said the investigation in the case was still on and there was quite a lot of material collected by the agency and at this stage, it needs to be seen if releasing Aryan Khan on bail would hamper the probe into the case.

    Desai, however, objected to it, saying a person’s liberty is at question here, and argued that releasing the accused on bail would not stop the investigation in the case.

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    “The bail will not stop the investigation. The NCB can continue their probe. That is their duty. But, keeping my client (Aryan Khan) in custody, especially when there has been no recovery (of drugs) from him, is not required,” Desai said.

    “He (Aryan) has not been found in possession of any narcotics and there is no other material against him. Since his arrest, he has been in the custody of the NCB for a week and his statement was recorded twice. Why does he still need to be in jail?” the senior counsel argued.

    Chimalkar, however, said that the agency needs at least a few days time to file its reply.

    “What Desai is arguing appears to be rosy, but this is not what the investigation reveals or divulges. Aryan Khan is in judicial custody. Whether his release on bail will affect or hamper our investigation needs to be seen,” Chimalkar said.

    ALSO READ | ‘Shameful politics’: Raveena Tandon’s cryptic post on Aryan Khan’s arrest in Mumbai cruise drugs bust

    Sethna, appearing for NCB, told the court that there was no extreme urgency for the bail plea to be heard immediately.

    Desai then sought the court to hear and decide Aryan Khan’s plea separately, saying the recovery of drugs from each accused in the case was different. But, Chimalkar and Sethna opposed it and said the conspiracy is the same.

    Apart from Aryan Khan, four other accused in the case – Arbaaz Merchant, Munmun Dhamecha, Nupur Sateja, and Mohak Jaiswal – have also filed bail pleas in the special court.

    The court said it would start hearing Aryan Khan’s bail plea on Wednesday. Aryan Khan has been charged with offences under Sections 8(c), 20(b), 27, 28, 29 and 35 of the NDPS Act pertaining to possession, consumption and purchase of drugs. The NCB has so far arrested 20 people in the case.