A Mumbai court will on Thursday continue the hearing on bail applications of Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan’s son Aryan Khan and other accused Arbaaz Merchant and Munmun Dhamecha.
On Wednesday, the court had adjourned the hearing after the NCB claimed to have found Aryan Khan’s links with the illicit procurement and distribution of contraband.
What is the case all about?
On October 2, the federal agency busted the alleged drugs party on the Cordelia Cruise ship, which was on its way from Mumbai to Goa. The team seized 13 grams of cocaine, 21gm of Hashish, 22 pills of MDMA, 5gm of MD, and 6 gm of charas. It has made as many as 20 arrests so far, including two Nigerian nationals.
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The special Narcotics Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) court is hearing a plea for bail to Aryan Khan, son of Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan, and also the bail applications of the other accused in the case – Arbaaz Merchant and Munmun Dhamecha.
What are NCB’s claims in court?
The NCB, in its reply filed at the special court on Wednesday, also said its investigation has revealed that the 23-year-old used to procure drugs from Merchant, a close friend of Aryan Khan who was also arrested after the raid on the cruise ship on October 2.
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“Investigation has revealed accused number 1 (Aryan Khan’s) role in the illicit prominent and distribution of contraband,” said the NCB in its reply, Hindustan Times reported. In another, the federal investigative agency said, “It is also revealed in the investigation that accused number 1 (Aryan) used to procure drugs from accused number 2 (Arbaaz) and people connected to Arbaaz.”
Earlier, the central agency accessed WhatsApp chats between Aryan Khan and Arbaaz Merchant, and officials familiar with the development said that Merchant may have “shared some drugs” with Khan.
The NCB claimed on Wednesday that Aryan Khan and Arbaaz Merchant were indeed collaborating together in the illicit distribution of drugs. “Accused numbers 1 and 2 are associated and worked in close collaborations so the offences are attracted against them, especially section 29 of the NDPS Act (criminal conspiracy to commit an offence),” the reply added.
