The witness, Sail, says that when Aryan Khan was taken to the NCB office, he too walked to the office. In pic,
a file image of Aryan Khan being taken to Arthur Road jail from Narcotics Control Bureau office after being arrested. (PTI)Shah Rukh Khan’s son Aryan Khan Drug Case Highlights: Aryan Khan and seven others will remain in judicial custody till October 30, a special court in Mumbai ruled. Meanwhile, actor Ananya Panday, along with father Chunky Panday, left from the NCB office after being questioned in the cruise ship drug raid case.
A team of the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) had reached Shah Rukh Khan’s Bandra residence ‘Mannat’ and actor Ananya Panday’s home earlier on Thursday. It is learnt that NCB officials met Panday and asked her to join the probe. This, following details the NCB, claimed it obtained from a purported WhatsApp conversation on Aryan Khan’s phone.
The Bombay High Court Thursday said the bail plea of Aryan Khan — who has been in custody now since October 3 in a drugs case filed by the Narcotics Control Bureau — will be heard next Tuesday. Advocate Satish Maneshinde mentioned the matter before the single-judge bench of Justice Nitin W Sambre this morning. Co-accused Munmun Dhamecha’s bail plea will also be heard on October 26 and the NCB can file a reply to Khan’s plea on Monday, the court said.
Meanwhile, actor Shah Rukh Khan visited the Arthur Road Jail on Thursday morning to meet his son Aryan Khan, who has been in custody now since October 3 in a drugs case filed by the Narcotics Control Bureau. This is the first time Shah Rukh has been seen in public after Aryan’s arrest.
Shah Rukh Khan's son Aryan Khan. (Source: Instagram)
Actor Ananya Panday to appear before Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) once again for questioning at 11 am on Friday, according to ANI.
Actor Ananya Panday's name cropped up in the case after certain WhatsApp chats between her and Aryan Khan were allegedly found in the latter's mobile phone, the sources told PTI, adding that earlier in the day, the NCB officials had seized her mobile and laptop.
The NCB officials, however, are yet to clarify about her role, if any, in the case.
Actor Ananya Panday, who was summoned for questioning in the cruise ship drug raid case, left the Narcotics Control Bureau office on Thursday evening.
A special court in Mumbai extended the judicial custody of Aryan Khan and seven others till October 30 in the cruise ship drug raid case.
Following a visit by NCB officials at her residence, actor Ananya Panday and her father Chunky Panday reached the anti-drug agency's office following summons for questioning in the cruise ship drug raid case.
Actor Ananya Panday, who has been summoned by the Narcotics Control Bureau for questioning in the cruise ship drug raid case also involving Aryan Khan, left for the NCB office from her residence at around 3.30 pm.
NCB zonal director Sameer Wankhede said a team of Mumbai zonal unit officials visited Mannat, the residence of Shah Rukh Khan, for "seeking certain material related to the investigation of the case involving Aryan Khan by following due procedure of notice. It wasn’t a raid as erroneously reported in certain sections/channels of media."
Arbaaz Merchant, arrested along with Aryan Khan, is expected to move the Bombay High Court today. As per his lawyer "process of filing is on." Aryan had been apprehended with his friend Merchant at the international cruise terminal in Mumbai on October 2, ahead of boarding a luxury liner that was allegedly to hold a rave party. While no drugs were found on Aryan, 6 grams of charas were allegedly seized from Merchant.
Shah Rukh Khan met his son for about 15 to 20 minutes, a prison official said, adding that there was a glass fencing between them and they spoke on the intercom. Four guards were present along with them during their conversation, he said. The actor was allowed to meet his son, as per the prison manual, like any other family member of a prisoner and no special treatment was given to him, the official said.
NCB officials reached Shah Rukh Khan’s residence, Mannat, on Thursday. The development came hours after SRK visited his son in prison.
A team of the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) has reached Shah Rukh Khan’s Bandra residence ‘Mannat’ and actor Ananya Panday's home. It is learned that NCB officials met Panday and asked her to join the probe. This, following details the NCB claimed it obtained from an alleged WhatsApp conversation on Aryan Khan's phone.
Businessman Aslam Merchant recently spoke to ETimes about how he has been unable to speak with his son Arbaaz Merchant properly ever since his arrest. Stating that he is concerned about his son’s security, Aslam said, “I wanted to speak to Arbaaz after the hearing and have been trying to get a chance to speak to him but to no avail. I also went to Khar police station which is near my house to register my phone number so that I get a chance to speak to my son, whose security is a big concern now because, as mentioned in the newspapers, he has been shifted to a general barrack of the jail.”
Further adding that he has only been able to talk to his son for three minutes since the past week, the businessman said, “I really don’t know how my son is and I don’t know what is happening inside the jail. I don’t even know who is he staying with in the barrack and what kind of people are around him. Besides, when I did get a chance to speak on video call last week, for just three minutes, I could see the fright on his face. I could feel his voice choking when he pleaded to me, ‘Pappa get us out of here, we are innocent.’ His choked voice and fright has scared me and I am worried about my son’s security.” Read more
October 3, 2021: Eight persons, including Aryan Khan, were arrested by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) in connection with an alleged drug bust onboard a cruise ship off the Mumbai coast. Three of those arrested, including Khan and two others identified as Arbaaz Merchant and Munmun Dhamecha, were produced before a local court and sent to NCB custody till the next day ie, October 4, 2021. The three were charged under sections of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act relating to charges of possession, consumption and sale of illegal substances.
October 7, 2021: Mumbai magistrate’s court rejected the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) plea seeking further custody of the three and five others present on the cruise. The court ordered for the eight to be sent to judicial custody. The six male accused, including Aryan Khan, were taken to Arthur Road jail, while the two women accused were taken to Byculla women’s jail.
October 8, 2021: The metropolitan magistrate’s court rejected the bail applications filed by Aryan Khan, his friend Arbaaz Merchant and anchor-model Munmun Dhamecha, stating they were not maintainable before it.
Oct 11, 2021: Lawyers of the accused moved a Mumbai special court designated under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act. Special Court decided to hear the case on October 14. The defence lawyers opposed the one-week time sought by the NCB.
Oct 14, 2021: Mumbai special court reserved its order in the bail plea of Aryan Khan for October 20, Wednesday. He was sent back to Arthur Road jail. NCB, during the hearing, stated that Khan had been a regular consumer of contraband for the past few years.
Oct 20, 2021: Aryan Khan’s bail plea, along Arbaaz Merchant and Munmun Dhamecha, was rejected by a Mumbai special court, In the order, the court said that Aryan Khan’s case amounts to conscious possession of the contraband as he was aware that his friend had it. The court also relied on WhatsApp chats submitted to it.
Oct 21, 2021: The Bombay High Court Thursday said the bail plea of Aryan Khan will be heard next Tuesday. Co-accused Munmun Dhamecha's bail plea will also be heard on October 26
Additional Solicitor General Anil Singh said that NCB hasn't been served the copy of the plea. Maneshinde said that they have been served the copy electronically. The High Court refused the videoconference hearing and will be taken up through physical mode on Tuesday, October 26.
Advocate Satish Maneshinde mentions Aryan Khan's plea against the rejection of his bail application by special NDPS court before the single-judge bench of Justice Nitin W Sambre. The court has kept next hearing on Tuesday and said that the NCB can file a reply to the plea on Monday
Film and television celebrities took to Twitter to express their thoughts on rejection of Aryan's bail plea. Calling it an ordeal, director Hansal Mehta wrote, “The travesty continues. The ordeal continues. Heartbreaking.”
Swara Bhasker wrote, “Stunning abdication of law.. by those charged with upholding the rule of law!”
Television actor Kamya Punjabi tweeted, “What’s happened to our Judiciary system?Aam janta trusts our judiciary system as they are a neutral body and hence not supposed to be biased.This is harassment n a one sided opinion.There are so many other ways to interrogate, like house arrest,etc. why keep in Jail? #AryanKhan.”
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This is the first time Shah Rukh has been seen in public ever since his son was arrested earlier this month. He is said to have cancelled all his shoots and professional commitments since that time. Shortly after Aryan Khan’s arrest, many Bollywood personalities started visiting his father’s residence Mannat in Bandra. Salman Khan, his sister Alvira Agnihotri and Priety Zinta are among those who visited SRK’s home. Shah Rukh Khan, however, has not posted anything on his social media handles.
Actor Shah Rukh Khan leaves Mumbai's Arthur Road Jail after meeting son Aryan Khan.
Actor Shah Rukh Khan reaches Mumbai's Arthur Road Jail to meet son Aryan Khan. Aryan (23) is currently lodged in Arthur Road prison in Mumbai after he was arrested by the NCB following the alleged drug seizure from a cruise ship off the Mumbai coast on October 2.
The bail pleas of Aryan Khan, the son of Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan, and two others were rejected by a special court in Mumbai on Wednesday. Denying bail to Aryan, who has been in custody now since October 3, a special NDPS court said that since Arbaaz Merchant, who was with Aryan, was found with contraband and Aryan knew about it, this amounted to “conscious possession”.
Aryan had been apprehended with his friend Merchant at the international cruise terminal in Mumbai on October 2, ahead of boarding a luxury liner that was allegedly to hold a rave party. While no drugs were found on Aryan, 6 grams of charas were allegedly seized from Merchant.
Aryan Khan and two others, whose bail pleas were rejected, will now have to approach the Bombay High Court for bail.
When the matter was called out for order in the afternoon, special judge Patil said, "Rejected."
Aryan Khan had in his bail plea said the NCB's contention that he was involved in conspiracy and illicit drug trafficking was absurd, and pointed out that there was no recovery of drugs made from him. The NCB, however, opposed the bail plea and said Aryan Khan had been consuming drugs for a few years now and was in touch with some persons who appear to be a part of an international drug network for procurement of drugs.
The agency was relying on WhatsApp chats of Aryan Khan, which they claim point towards procurement of bulk quantities of drugs. The NCB had argued that although there was no recovery from Aryan Khan, the recovery of six grams of Charas from his friend Arbaaz Merchant points to conscious possession by Aryan Khan. (PTI)
Twelve others arrested in the cruise ship case have also filed for bail. The NCB has filed their replies now.
NCB special public prosecutor Advait Sethna pleads that arguments be adjourned so that they can go through the order passed against Aryan Khan and two others first. Defence lawyers of the 12 lawyers say NCB is using a delay tactic.
Special Judge V V Patil will begin hearing arguments of the other accused from tomorrow.
Aryan Khan's bail application rejected by special court. Bail application of two others Arbaaz Merchant and Munmun Dhamecha also rejected.
Shah Rukh Khan who has always spoken of his children as his world is just a parent right now. And, as parents ourselves, trying to steer a new generation in a world that is again changing, we know as well as SRK that there are no easy answers, no fingers to point, no stones to be cast. We are all as fallible as the next person in a system rigged to trip you, to hit you at your lowest, to catch you at your littlest. Any one of ours can be the next Aryan, without the searing spotlight.
And, if it is any consolation, SRK, you are that again — one of ours.
Read Shalini Langer's opinion, here
Aryan Khan assured NCB officials during counseling that he would work for the welfare of the poor and never do anything that would besmirch his name in the future, an official said.
During counselling by officials including NCB’s zonal director Sameer Wankhede and social workers, Aryan said after his release, he will work for “social and financial uplift of the poor and downtrodden” and never do anything which could bring him publicity for the wrong reasons, said an agency official. “He said `I will do something that will make you proud of me,'” the official added.
Aryan Khan’s arrest was a shocking and dramatic event that had all of us sit up and take notice. Aryan is the son of a multi-millionaire father who also happens to be one of Bollywood’s longest surviving superstars. Before the NCB could even officially confirm the arrest or state the charges against Aryan, a flood of memes appeared on social media mocking his arrest. Memes that were cruel, disparaging and reeked of smug satisfaction from watching a wealthy young man fall from grace. Many of them were targeted at his superstar father.
It is time to examine our dysfunctional relationship with Bollywood celebrities who we love to hate. Hatred is a parasite that constantly needs anger and disgruntlement to feed on. While we can’t erase the economic divide between the haves and have nots, we can act in time to salvage our residual humanity before this blaze of rage and prejudice consumes us all. Read more
There are clear similarities in the two alleged drug busts by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) in Mumbai over the past year, involving actor Rhea Chakraborty and Shah Rukh Khan’s son Aryan.
In neither case was the central agency able to show any drug seizures on Aryan or Rhea, nor did it carry out blood tests on either of them to determine whether they had consumed drugs. In both cases, the NCB detained the two suspects, got access to their mobile phones, and used material stored in the devices, including deleted WhatsApp chats, to arrest them. Read more
Calling the Narcotics Control Bureau’s (NCB) allegations of “illicit drug trafficking” against Aryan Khan as “inherently absurd”, his lawyer said a reformative approach is needed, as Aryan has suffered enough.
Senior lawyer Amit Desai said that the “very serious and frightening” term of “illicit drug trafficking” was being dumped on Aryan, though no drug or other material were recovered from him. The NCB opposed bail to Aryan and two others stating that though no drugs were found on him, he cannot be looked at in isolation and that it was investigating an “international drugs connection”. Read more
A special Mumbai court will today pronounce its orders on bail applications filed by Aryan Khan, son of actor Shah Rukh Khan in the drugs-on-cruise case. The verdict will be pronounced at 2.45 pm.
Whether you have grown up ensconced in layers of privilege or hail from middle-class origins, slander is devastating — and a prison stint is likely to be a (unpleasant) transformative experience. A day in jail lasts an eternity in the absence of stimulation to alleviate the cruelly meticulous passing of time. One way to see it, at least in the case of the young Khan, is that it is an ordeal he will be none the worse for, the bizarre episode a brutal lesson that systems created to ensure fairness don’t necessarily work. The collateral damage is more for the other young people arrested with Khan, their names and faces flashing across TV channels over the last fortnight. Due process and the rule of law — innocent till proven guilty — means nothing, faced with the juggernaut of social media that so cunningly amplifies our negatives. Google doesn’t let a past die and this incident is bound to resurface through their lives at the most inopportune of moments.
Read Leher Kala's opinion, here
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. 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.
In an Instagram post, Khanna shared a portion of her blog post titled, ‘Let the desi Squid Games begin’. Citing the example from one of the episodes of the popular South Korean drama, she wrote, “Each player is given ten marbles and must get their opponent’s marbles by competing in any game of their choosing. In this episode, one of the strongest candidates is badgered and ultimately bamboozled into losing his marbles. I seem to have misplaced mine as well when I read the news about Shah Rukh Khan’s son’s arrest.”
Twinkle Khanna found it unfair that Aryan has been in jail for two weeks without any evidence against him, “While his friend was apparently carrying 6 gm of charas, there is reportedly no evidence of possession by Aryan Khan. Yet, the young boy has been languishing in Arthur Road jail for almost two weeks now.”
Veteran lyricist Javed Akhtar on Tuesday said the Hindi film industry is under the scanner because of its “high profile” nature and it is the “price” it has to pay. There have been voices on social media that felt the case against Aryan was a deliberate attempt to target the film industry.
When asked if he feels that Bollywood is being routinely targeted with raids, Akhtar told reporters, “This is the price the film industry has to pay for being high profile. When you are high profile, people have fun pulling you down, throwing muck at you. If you are a nobody, then who has the time to throw stones at you?” Akhtar was speaking at the launch of the book Changemakers written by authors Almas Virani and Sweta Samota.
A special Mumbai court will today pronounce its orders on bail applications filed by Aryan Khan, son of actor Shah Rukh Khan in the drugs-on-cruise case. Seven others including Aryan’s friend Arbaaz Merchant and model Munmun Dhamecha were arrested by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) on October 3.
Follow this space to track the latest news from Aryan Khan bail hearing