Actor Shah Rukh Khan’s son Aryan arrested in drugs case
MUMBAI: A Mumbai magistrate on Sunday ordered three people, including Aryan Khan, son of Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan, to be taken into custody by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) till October 4.
Drug enforcers had arrested the three earlier on Sunday for alleged possession of banned drugs and substance abuse.
The agency on Saturday night raided a cruise ship off the Mumbai coast and busted a party where drugs were being used. “Khan and others were on the cruise ship where the agency busted a rave party,” NCB zonal director Sameer Wankhede said.
Aryan, the eldest son of Shah Rukh and Gauri Khan, was arrested on Sunday afternoon for alleged possession and consumption of illegal drugs. The bureau has registered a case under section 8C, 20B, 27 read with 35 of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985, after officers seized 13 gms of cocaine, 21 gm of charas (hasish), 22 pills of MDMA (ecstasy), 5gm mephedrone, and cash worth Rs 1.33 lakh at Interto national Cruise Terminal, Green Gate Mumbai.
The two others arrested are Munmun Dhamecha and Arbaaz Merchant.
While Arbaaz is a resident of Bandra and a friend of Aryan, Munmun Dhamecha is fashion designer from Madhya Pradesh.
The three arrested were taken for a medical examination in JJ Hospital in Mumbai at around 4pm. Besides the drug enforcers, they were accompanied by personnel from Mumbai police. Khan was brought back to NCB’S office in Ballard Estate in South Mumbai, where he was interrogated.
NCB officials said they were tipped off about the rave party and boarded the ship as passengers. There were hundreds of passengers on the Goa-bound ship, an official said, asking not
be named.
This is the first time NCB has raided a rave party on a cruise ship, said people familiar with the matter who declined to be named.
Two women who were on cruise ship were brought to the NCB office on Sunday morning for questioning. The drug enforcers are also investigating crew members, event organisers and some foreign nationals.
A Delhi-based event company is believed to have organised the parties on passenger cruise ships on October 2, 3 and 4. The cruise ship was scheduled to go to Goa on Saturday night and return to Mumbai by Monday.
The NCB also recorded the statement of Jurgen Bailom, the president and CEO of Cordelia Cruise in its office.
“The agency called us to understand the procedure of crew operation and we are cooperating with the NCB. There were around 1,000 passengers when the ship left from Mumbai coast. Our ship has not been detained, it has gone for its destination and will return on Monday. We were not aware about the guests who were on the ship as organisers are different” Bailom said.