Clean chit to Aryan Khan in drugs on cruise case; Wankhede to face action for 'shoddy' investigation

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, May 27

The Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) has given a clean chit to Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan’s son Aryan Khan in the drugs-on-cruise case in which he was arrested in October last year and had to spend about a month in jail.

The NCB today filed a 6,000-page chargesheet in a Mumbai court, but did not charge Aryan and five others (of the 20 accused) due to “lack of sufficient evidence”. In a statement, the NCB’s special investigation team (SIT) said it had carried out the probe in an “objective manner” and the “touchstone of the principle of proof beyond reasonable doubt had been applied”.

Also, the government is learnt to have ordered initiation of action against NCB’s former Mumbai zonal director Sameer Wankhede, who initially handled the case and under whom the arrests were made, for the alleged botched-up investigation. Appropriate action was also being initiated against Wankhede by the competent authority (Ministry of Finance as he is an IRS officer) for allegedly providing a fake caste certificate, said sources. The SIT found “grave irregularities” and “gaps” in the probe, its officials said, adding the agency’s first team that arrested Aryan did not follow rules like mandatory medical test of accused, video-recording of the raids and corroborating evidence for WhatsApp chats.

Eight persons—Vikrant, Ishmeet, Arbaaz, Ayan, Gomit, Nupur, Mohak and Munmun—were arrested by the NCB following a raid on a cruise vessel on October 2 last year. “All the accused barring Aryan (Khan) and Mohak (Jaiswal) were found in possession of narcotics,” the SIT said.

Wankhede was removed from the case following a political controversy and the probe was shifted to the SIT comprising officials from the NCB’s Delhi headquarters. It was headed by Deputy Director General (operations) Sanjay Kumar Singh.

The SIT concluded that Aryan was never in possession of drugs and there was no need to seize his phone or check his chats. Also, the chats didn’t suggest that Aryan was part of any international syndicate, it found.

NCB Director General SN Pradhan conceded that there were “loopholes” and “procedural irregularities” in the initial probe and, therefore, the SIT was formed. He said a separate vigilance inquiry was continuing in the case to look for lapses, if any, on the part of the agency’s officials.

The SIT’s review of the probe involved questioning of all the arrested persons, witnesses and officials at the NCB’s Mumbai unit who took part in the raid along with Wankhede. It found out that Khan never asked his friend Arbaaz Merchant to bring drugs on the cruise.

Wankhede’s team relied on WhatsApp chats and claimed the accused were part of a larger conspiracy. It had alleged that Aryan was in touch with some foreign drug supplier and the chats referred to “hard drugs” and “bulk quantities”. The NCB Director General said there was no proof of in “as people came on the ship in groups of two, three or four”.

Aryan spent 28 days behind bars

Oct 2, 2021: Cruise ship raided; Aryan, few others detained

Oct 3: Aryan, Arbaaz Merchant & Munmun Dhamecha held

Oct 4: NCB seeks custody ‘linking’ trio to int’l drug racket

Oct 8: Aryan’s bail plea rejected

Oct 26: Bombay HC begins hearing, arguments last 3 days

Oct 28: High Court grants bail to Aryan, Arbaaz & Munmun

Oct 30: Aryan released from jail

Nov 6: NCB removes Wankhede from investigation, forms SIT

‘Lapses’ in probe

• Raid on vessel not video-recorded, as mandated
• Drugs recovered from several accused shown as single recovery
• Medical test not conducted
• Failure to corroborate proof for WhatsApp chats

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