Mumbai: The Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) on Friday gave a clean chit to Aryan Khan, son of Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan, in last year's 'drugs on cruise' case in which he was arrested and spent 22 days in jail. NCB officials said Aryan Khan and five others were not named in the agency's chargesheet due to "lack of sufficient evidence".
The NCB SIT found "grave irregularities" and gaps in the probe, the 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 corroborate evidence for WhatsApp chats.
NCB director general S N Pradhan told reporters in Delhi that there were "shortcomings" in the investigation and WhatsApp chat of accused had no "physical corroborative evidence" as required to prove the charges in the court. The NCB on Friday filed a nearly 6,000-page charge sheet before a Mumbai court against 14 accused in the case.
The chargesheet, however, did not name six, including Aryan Khan, due to lack of sufficient evidence. "We have filed the charge sheet on the basis of whatever was found by our special investigation team on the last date of filing the charge sheet," Pradhan said.
Also read: 'Drugs on cruise' case: Timeline
Aryan Khan's lawyer Mukul Rohatgi said truth has prevailed. "I am relieved, and so must my clients be, including Shah Rukh Khan. The truth has prevailed. Ultimately, there was no material to charge this young man (Aryan Khan) or arrest him," he said.
NCB has admitted its mistake and realised that there was no reason to proceed against Aryan Khan, Rohatgi was quoted as saying by PTI. I am very relieved and am sure that the young man and his father are equally relieved, he said. Asserting that the SIT carried out its probe in an "objective manner", NCB said in a statement that "the touchstone of the principle of proof beyond reasonable doubt has been applied".
"Based on the investigation carried out by the SIT, a complaint against 14 persons under various sections of the NDPS Act is being filed (before a Mumbai court). Complaint against rest 6 persons is not being filed due to lack of sufficient evidence," the statement said.
It added that eight people, including Aryan Khan, were arrested by the NCB's Mumbai zonal office on October 2 last year from the international cruise terminal and the vessel that was operated by a company called Cordelia. Aryan Khan was released on October 30 from Mumbai's Arthur Road jail, 26 days after he was arrested in connection with the drugs case, after being granted bail.
Also read: Centre orders action against Ex-NCB officer Sameer Wankhede
The government has ordered action against former NCB officer Sameer Wankhede for his alleged "shoddy" work while probing the 'drugs-on-cruise' case, official sources said. Appropriate action is also being initiated against Wankhede for allegedly providing a fake caste certificate, they added. Wankhede is an Indian Revenue Service officer and the finance ministry is the nodal authority to take the action against him. He was then Mumbai zonal director of the NCB and handled the initial investigation.
Aryan was granted bail on October 28 by the Bombay High Court which dismissed NCB's arguments and said it cannot just rely on WhatsApp messages to make such grave allegations. On November 6 last year, the NCB removed Wankhede from the probe and transferred the case from Mumbai to a Delhi-based SIT formed under its deputy director-general (operations) Sanjay Kumar Singh.
Wankhede is presently posted in the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) at Mumbai. Hailing NCB's clean chit to Aryan Khan, the ruling NCP in Maharashtra asked who would be held responsible for the trauma he suffered. It also said Wankhede was answerable to the people of this country.
Congress claimed the case was part of a larger conspiracy to topple the Maha Vikas Aghadi government, in which it shares power with the Shiv Sena and NCP in the state.
