Tag: Aaryan Khan

Mumbai: Lawyer Approaches Police Seeking FIR Against Wankhede, 5 Others Over ‘Extortion Bid’

In the complaint, lawyer Sudha Dwivedi has demanded registration of FIR against Wankhede and five others, including NCB witnesses in the drugs case Prabhakar Sail and KP Gosavi, and a person named Sam D’Souza.

Mumbai: A lawyer on Monday approached the Mumbai police with a complaint seeking registration of an FIR against Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) zonal director Sameer Wankhede and five others on charge of alleged extortion in connection with the drugs-on-cruise case, an official said.

According to the official, lawyer Sudha Dwivedi submitted the written complaint at the MRA Marg police station and also to offices of Joint Commissioner of Police (Crime) Milind Bharambhe and the state Anti-Corruption Bureau. In the complaint, Dwivedi has demanded registration of FIR against Wankhede and five others, including NCB witnesses in the drugs case Prabhakar Sail and KP Gosavi, and a person named Sam D’Souza over alleged extortion charge.

“We have received the complaint, but no FIR has been registered till now,” another official said.

The complaint comes a day after Sail claimed an extortion bid of Rs 25 crore by some NCB officials, including Wankhede, and others for letting off accused Aryan Khan, son of actor Shah Rukh Khan, in the drugs case.

Also Read: Aryan Khan and India’s Addiction to the Drug Called Majoritarianism

Sail said he was the bodyguard of another witness in the case, Gosavi, who is absconding after the NCB raids that were conducted on October 3 at the cruise terminal on Mumbai’s coast leading to the arrest of as many as 20 people, including Aryan Khan.

Wankhede has denied the allegations being made against him in this case. Earlier in the day, the IRS officer and the NCB filed two separate affidavits before a special court against the allegations of extortion attempt levelled against them.

Wankhede, in his affidavit submitted to the court, refuted the allegations levelled against him, and claimed he was under a “lurking threat of arrest as it does not suit some vested interests for conducting an honest and impartial investigation”.

However, the special court said it cannot pass a blanket order barring courts from taking cognizance of an affidavit prepared by Sail in which he has made allegations of extortion attempt by Wankhede and others.

(PTI)

Aryan Khan Says NCB ‘Misinterpreted’ WhatsApp Chats to Implicate Him in Drugs Case

In his appeal in the HC against the special court order, Aryan Khan said the Narcotics Control Bureau’s (NCB) “interpretation and misinterpretation” of the WhatsApp chats collected from his mobile phone was “wrong and unjustified”.

Mumbai: Aryan Khan, son of Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan, in his plea in the Bombay high court seeking bail, has said that the NCB was “misinterpreting” his WhatsApp chats to implicate him in the case of seizure of banned drugs aboard a cruise ship off the Mumbai coast earlier this month.

Aryan Khan, currently in jail, on Wednesday moved the HC after a special court rejected his application for bail. The HC will hear his bail plea on October 26.

In his appeal in the HC against the special court order, Aryan Khan said the Narcotics Control Bureau’s (NCB) “interpretation and misinterpretation” of the WhatsApp chats collected from his mobile phone was “wrong and unjustified”.

Also Read: Aryan Khan Seemed To Be Indulging in Drug Activities Regularly: Court Says, Denying Bail

The 23-year-old claimed no contraband was recovered from him after the NCB raided the ship and maintained he has no connection with any of the other accused in the case except Arbaaz Merchant and Aachit Kumar.

So far, the anti-drugs agency has arrested as many as 20 people in connection with the case.

The appeal further said the WhatsApp chats that are being relied upon by the NCB are “ex-facie (on the face of it) of a period prior to the incident”.

“By no stretch of imagination can those purported messages be linked to any conspiracy for which the secret information was received,” it said.

“The interpretation of the WhatsApp messages is that of the investigating officer and such interpretation is unjustified and wrong,” the appeal said.

Aryan Khan also questioned the special court’s contention, while refusing him bail, that since he is an influential person he may tamper with evidence in the case if released from custody.

“There is no presumption in law that merely because a person is influential, there is likelihood of him tampering with the evidence,” the appeal said.

Aryan Khan was arrested on October 3 by the NCB along with his friend Arbaaz Merchant (26) and fashion model Munmun Dhamecha (28). The trio is presently in judicial custody. While Aryan Khan and Merchant are lodged at the Arthur Road prison in central Mumbai, Dhamecha is at the Byculla women’s prison.

A special court, designated to hear cases related to the Narcotics Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act (NDPS), refused to grant them bail noting that “they were part of the conspiracy”.

The lower court had said Aryan Khan had a “nexus with drug peddlers and suppliers and had indulged in illicit drug activities on a regular basis”.

(PTI)

NCB Zonal Director Alleges Cops Monitoring his Movement, Files Complaint

Sameer Wankhede, who is currently supervising the probe into the recent drug bust on a cruise ship off the coast of Mumbai, has been a part of many high-profile narcotics cases in the past.

Mumbai: Sameer Wankhede, Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) zonal director who is supervising the probe into the recent cruise ship drugs bust case, has filed a police complaint in Mumbai alleging that two cops were monitoring his movements, an NCB official said on Monday.

According to the NCB official, Wankhede had been regularly visiting the cemetery in suburban Oshiwara where his mother was buried after her death in 2015.

Two officials, reportedly from the Oshiwara police station, allegedly went to the cemetery and took CCTV footage to monitor Wankhede’s movement, the official said.

Also Read: Special Court Asks NCB to File Reply in Aryan Khan’s Bail Application

The senior Indian Revenue Service (IRS) officer took note of the alleged surveillance and approached senior Maharashtra police officials over the matter.

Wankhede has filed a complaint alleging that his movement was being monitored and attached CCTV footage of the Oshiwara cemetery in support of his claim, the official said. Wankhede has been dealing with high-profile drug-related cases since he took over as zonal director of the central agency, but has never noticed anything like this, he said.

The top officer of the drug law enforcement agency has been part of multiple high-profile raids carried out by the NCB in the recent past.

Apart from the recent drugs bust onboard a cruise liner off the Mumbai coast which led to the arrest of Aryan Khan, son of Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan, Wankhede investigated the 2020 drug case linked to the death of actor Sushant Singh Rajput and several other matters related to narcotics involving high-profile people.

Special Court Asks NCB to File Reply in Aryan Khan’s Bail Application

Aryan, the son of Bollywood star Shah Rukh Khan, was arrested on October 3 and has been in jail since. His counsel has noted that no narcotics were found on him.

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.

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.

Also read: ‘BJP Leader’s Kin, 2 Others Detained After Cruise Drugs Raid Were Let Go Within Hours’: NCP

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.

“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.

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.

Watch | The Cruise Drug Case, Aryan Khan and Allegations: The Story so Far

Denied bail, Aryan’s lawyer will now have to approach the sessions court.

Bollywood star Shah Rukh Khan’s son Aryan Khan has been denied bail in the cruise drugs case. The court has also rejected the bail plea of two other accused, Arbaaz Merchant and Munmun Dhamecha.

After hearing the arguments, the magistrate said their applications were not maintainable. Aryan’s lawyer will now have to approach the sessions court for bail.

In this video of The Wire Explains, we narrate what has happened in this case so far, what are the allegations against Aryan Khan and, finally, how Aryan’s name came to be associated with this case.

‘BJP Leader’s Kin, 2 Others Detained After Cruise Drugs Raid Were Let Go Within Hours’: NCP

The brother-in-law of BJP leader Mohit Bharatiya and two others who had brought Aryan Khan to the cruise ship were all let go within hours of detention, NCP spokesperson Nawab Malik said.

New Delhi: The Nationalist Congress Party raised the heat on the Narcotics Control Bureau’s investigation into the ‘cruise drugs’ case, in which Bollywood star Shah Rukh Khan’s son is held, by claiming that the NCB let go of a person connected with the Bharatiya Janata Party hours after having detained him in the same case.

Mohit Bharatiya. Photo: Twitter/@mohitbharatiya_

NCP leader and spokesperson Nawab Malik on Saturday, October 9, claimed that the NCB had initially detained 11 people from the Goa-bound cruise ship off Mumbai coast last week, but let off three of them, including the brother-in-law of BJP leader Mohit Bharatiya, a couple of hours later.

The fresh NCP allegation comes days after it pointed out that two people in the NCB team that raided the cruise ship off Mumbai, were civilians and one of them is a BJP member. The latter later confessed in a TV interview that he is, indeed, a BJP member and was an informer in the case.

Addressing a press conference in Mumbai, Malik, who is also a Maharashtra minister, alleged that Mohit Bharatiya’s brother-in-law Rishabh Sachdeva was among three persons let go by the BJP.

Two others – Pratik Gabba and Aamir Furniturewala – who had brought Shah Rukh Khan’s son Aryan to the cruise party, were released along with Sachdeva two hours after their detention, he said.

A metropolitan magistrate’s court on Friday had denied bail to Aryan Khan, Munmun Dhamecha and Arbaaz Merchantt. The court on Thursday had sent Khan and seven others arrested in the case to 14-day judicial remand after their NCB custody ended.

Bharatiya declined comment to the news agency PTI on NCP’s allegation, but his office said he would hold a press conference later in the day.


“The names of Pratik and Aamir figured in the ongoing hearings in the court,” Malik said.

Malik had earlier announced that on Saturday he would reveal the name of the BJP leader, whose brother-in-law, he claimed, was let off by the anti-drug agency.

Based on a tip-off that a party was to take place on board the ship, an NCB team led by its zonal director Sameer Wankhede had raided the Cordelia cruise last Saturday and claimed to have recovered banned drugs. A total of 18 persons have been arrested in the case, including Aryan Khan.

The NCP leader demanded that the call records of these three persons along with that of Wankhede be examined.

“Rishabh Sachdeva’s father and uncle came to the NCB office and telephonic conversations happened between Wankhede and the BJP leaders in Mumbai and Delhi from the phone of Sachdeva’s father,” Malik claimed.

“Why were the phones of these three persons not seized?” he asked.

Also read: Two Men Involved in NCB Cruise Raid Civilians, Says NCP; One Admits to Being ‘Loyal BJP Worker’

According to Malik, the Mumbai police were also given information that 11 persons had been detained from the cruise ship.

Malik also alleged that the NCB’s raid on the cruise was “fake, planned and conspired to defame the film industry and the Maharashtra government”.

“Selective people have been arrested…The matter is serious. CCTV footage should be taken and a detailed inquiry should be conducted,” the minority affairs minister alleged.

He also hit at the BJP for attacking him over his allegations.

“The BJP says that I am attacking the NCB since my son-in-law was arrested by the agency. I have never supported my son-in-law and he will fight his case. How can I give information I have in this case to the NCB which has framed a false case. If an independent commission is set up to conduct a probe, I will do so,” Malik said.

His son-in-law Sameer Khan had been arrested by the NCB on January 13 this year in an alleged drugs case. He got bail in September.

Drugs Case: Mumbai Court Refuses Bail to Aryan Khan, Munmun Dhamecha and Arbaaz Merchantt

The court on Thursday sent eight arrested in the case to 14-day judicial remand after their Narcotics Control Bureau custody ended.

Mumbai: A metropolitan magistrate’s court on Friday denied bail to Aryan Khan, son of Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan, and two others in a case pertaining to the alleged seizure of banned drugs from a cruise ship off the Mumbai coast.

Additional chief metropolitan magistrate R.M. Nerlikar rejected the bail pleas of Aryan Khan (23), Munmun Dhamecha and Arbaaz Merchantt.

The court on Thursday sent Aryan Khan and seven others arrested in the case to 14-day judicial remand after their Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) custody ended.

Additional solicitor general Anil Singh, appearing for the NCB, opposed the bail applications of the three accused.

After hearing the arguments, the magistrate denied bail to Khan, Dhamecha and Merchantt, saying their applications were not maintainable.

The NCB had arrested these three along with some others over the last weekend after raiding the Goa-bound Cordelia cruise ship on Saturday evening. The central agency had claimed to have recovered drugs from the ship.

A total of 18 persons have been arrested so far in the case.

Two Men Involved in NCB Cruise Raid Civilians, Says NCP; One Admits to Being ‘Loyal BJP Worker’

BJP’s Manish Bhanushali has claimed to be an informer in the case. The other civilian S.K. Gosavi is a private detective, reports say.

New Delhi: The Nationalist Congress Party alleged on Wednesday, October 6 that two people in the Narcotics Control Bureau team that raided the cruise ship off Mumbai, leading to the arrest of Bollywood star Shah Rukh Khan’s son, were civilians and one of them is a member of the Bharatiya Janata Party. The latter has confessed in a TV interview that he is, indeed, a BJP member and was an informer in the case.

The Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) has so far arrested 17 people, including Khan’s son Aryan, after allegedly seizing drugs from the Goa-bound ship on Saturday, October 2.

“The drama was fake. They did not find drugs on the ship,” NCP spokesperson and Maharashtra Minorities Affairs Minister Nawab Malik claimed.

NCB has denied these claims.

At a press meet, Malik showed videos of the raid to bolster his claim.

“A man who is seen escorting Aryan Khan in one of the videos was not an NCB official, and his social media profile states that he is a private detective based in Kuala Lumpur…Further, two men are seen escorting Arbaaz Merchant, also arrested in the case, in another video, and one of them is a member of the BJP,” Malik said.

“If these two men are not officials of the NCB, then why were they escorting two high-profile people?” he asked.

After Malik made his claim, journalist Sudhir Suryawanshi tweeted identifying the two civilians as S.K. Gosavi and “BJP vice-president” Manish Bhanushali.

Suryawanshi posted photos on Twitter that showed Gosavi posing with guns. He is also involved in a case of fraud, Suryawanshi tweeted.


Twitter users pointed out that Gosavi had also taken a selfie with Aryan Khan, drawing attention to the fact that such action is unusual for officials on duty.

Journalist Meenal Baghel pointed out that out of the two, the BJP worker, Manish Bhanushali, seen escorting Aryan Khan, was a not from the NCB but was seen in photographs playing an active role in the arrests, similar to those of officials.

In an interview with India Today, Manish Bhanushali said he was a loyal worker of BJP but that the party was not connected to him going to the NCB with information. Bhanushali said that he received information on a “drug party” on the cruise through a friend on WhatsApp.

Although Bhanushali claimed in the India Today interview that he was not a position holder in BJP, photos tweeted by fact-checking website Alt News co-founder Mohammad Zubair show him in the company of Narendra Modi and Amit Shah.

The NCP’s official account has also followed it up with more photo evidence.

The man seen with Merchant was in Gujarat on September 21-22 and could be connected to the seizure of about 3,000 kilograms of heroin at Mundra Port, Malik claimed, asking the BJP to come clear on this person’s credentials.

“The NCB is being used by the BJP to malign people, the Maharashtra government and Bollywood,” Malik said, alleging that the anti-drug agency was targeting those who are against the saffron party.

PTI has reported that Malik’s son-in-law Sameer Khan too had been arrested by the NCB on January 13, 2021, in an alleged drug case. He got bail in September.

(With PTI inputs)

Cruise Drugs Case: NCB Gets Custody of Aryan Khan Till Oct 7, Two More Arrested

Aryan Khan’s lawyer claimed no drugs were recovered in his client’s possession.

New Delhi: The Narcotics Control Bureau has arrested two more persons in connection with the case of seizure of banned drugs from a cruise ship off the Mumbai coast, an NCB official said on Tuesday. A Mumbai court also granted the NCB custody of Shah Rukh Khan’s son Aryan Khan and others till October 7.

“For the circumstances presented to me, it seems that the co-accused possess intermediate contraband and the present accused (Khan) accompanied them. Investigation is of prime importance. It will be essential for prosecution and accused to prove is innocent,” additional chief metropolitan magistrate R.M. Nerlikar said in the order, according to Bar and Bench.

The anti-drugs agency had earlier arrested nine people, including Aryan Khan, after raiding the Goa-bound ship on Saturday.

After the raid, the NCB’s Mumbai zonal unit started a crackdown on drug peddlers connected with the arrested persons. The agency sleuths also brought some suspects, including from the cruise ship, to the NCB’s office here for an enquiry, the official said.

During the questioning of suspects, the role of two more persons came to light, following which they were placed under arrest, the official said without disclosing their identity.

So far, 11 people have been arrested in connection with the seizure of banned drugs from the cruise ship.

The NCB on Monday claimed before a city court that “shocking and incriminating” material recovered in WhatsApp chats of Aryan Khan and two others arrested in connection with the case showed international drug trafficking.

The Narcotics Control Bureau, which got the remand of Aryan Khan (23) and the other eight accused from the court till Thursday, also claimed that in the WhatsApp chats he is discussing modes of payment to be done for procurement (of drugs) and that several “code names are being used”.

Aryan Khan’s lawyer claimed no drugs were recovered from his client’s possession. “The panchnama does not indicate anything seized from me except my mobile. My friend was arrested because he had 6 gms of charas, with which even I was not connected,” Khan’s advocate Satish Maneshinde said on his behalf.

“Upon further interrogation, they have downloaded my WhatsApp chats. While I was abroad, they claim that my chats indicate international drug trafficking. The entire period of my stay abroad, I have not been involved in any trafficking, supply or distribution,” he continued.

“As of now, in 48 hours, nothing has been found against me. Any prayer for further custody may be rejected. Whatever they had to interrogate with me, they have. I have co-operated, and they also were nice to me. I showed my good conduct. Did not delete anything.”

Munmun Dhamecha, one of the others arrested, broke down during the hearing on Monday. “Munmun was on the cruise liner only because she was invited. She is a girl from a small town in Madhya Pradesh. She got work after a long time owing to the pandemic, which is why she came here,” her lawyer, advocate Kashif Ali Deshmukh, argued, according to India Today.

Advocate Taraq Sayed, appearing for another arrested person Arbaaz Merchant, said that the NCB was focusing on the high-profile passengers even though there were 1,300-1,400 people aboard the cruise ship, Bar and Bench reported.

(With PTI inputs)

SRK’s Son Aaryan Khan Among 3 Arrested After Narcotics Bureau Raid on Cruise

The anti-drug agency has registered an FIR in connection with the party.

New Delhi: The Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) has arrested three people – Shah Rukh Khan’s son Aaryan Khan, Arbaaz Merchant and Munmun Dhamecha – after a raid on a cruise ship.

Earlier, the NCB detained eight people including the three arrested after it raided a cruise ship in Mumbai and allegedly busted a party where drugs were being consumed. The others detained were identified as Nupur Sarika, Ismeet Singh, Mohak Jaswal, Vikrant Chhoker and Gomit Chopra, an NCB official said, adding that different drugs like MDMA, ecstasy, cocaine, MD (mephedrone) and charas were recovered from them during the raid conducted on Saturday evening.

The anti-drug agency has registered an FIR in connection with the party, an official told PTI.

Based on a tip-off that a party was scheduled on the ship, an NCB team, led by its zonal director Sameer Wankhede, had raided the Goa-bound Cordelia cruise ship on Saturday evening and recovered drugs from some of the passengers, the official said.

“During the operation, the suspects were searched and different drugs were recovered from them, which they had hidden in their clothes, undergarments and purses (by women). The detained persons will be produced in a court later in the day after the legal formalities get over,” the NCB official said.

According to the Indian Express, statements of the detained are being recorded under Section 67 of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act. An NCB official said that while Aaryan and the others were being questioned, no charges had been filed against them.

(With PTI inputs)