Aryan Khan at the Narcotics Control Bureau office (NCB) in Mumbai in December, 2021.Citing lack of sufficient evidence, a Special Investigation Team of the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) Friday dropped Aryan Khan, son of Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan, and five others from its chargesheet filed on Friday in connection with a drugs bust onboard a cruise ship off the Mumbai coast last October.
Asserting that its special investigation team (SIT) carried out its probe in an “objective manner”, the federal anti-drugs agency said in a statement in Delhi that “the touchstone of the principle of proof beyond reasonable doubt has been applied”.
Here is the timeline of the case:
October 3, 2021: Eight persons, including Aryan Khan, were arrested by the NCB in connection with an alleged drug bust onboard a cruise ship — Cordelia — off the Mumbai Coast. Aryan and two others charged with possession, consumption and sale of illegal substances under sections of the NDPS Act.
Best of Express Premium
October 6: Maharashtra minister Nawab Malik of the NCP raises questions over the NCB operation, claiming that Aryan was framed.
October 7: Metropolitan magistrate’s court rejects the NCB plea seeking further custody of the accused and sends them to judicial custody.
October 8: The metropolitan magistrate’s court rejects the bail applications filed by Aryan and two others, Arbaaz Merchant and Munmun Dhamecha.
October 14: A Mumbai Special Court reserves its order on the bail plea of Aryan for October 20. NCB, during the hearing, stated that Aryan had been a regular consumer of the contraband.
October 20: Special court rejects Aryan’s bail, citing “conscious possession of the contraband”. Aryan then moves Bombay High Court.
October 21: A bench of Justice Nitin W Sambre fixes October 26 to hear Aryan’s bail plea.
October 26: The NCB files affidavit opposing Aryan’s bail plea, saying “he is an influential person and may tamper with evidence or flee justice if released on bail”.
October 29: Aryan gets bail.
November 7: The Special Investigation Team of the NCB that took over the case begins recording statements of the accused.
April 1, 2022: Prabhakar Sail, a witness in the Cordelia drug bust case, dies of heart attack. Sail had alleged demand for bribe from Aryan’s father Shah Rukh Khan to go easy on his son.
April 13: Two officials of the NCB were suspended for “deliberate dereliction of duty” that helped an accused in an NCB case secure bail. The officials were also investigating the Cordelia case.
May 27: The NCB drops Aryan’s name from the charge sheet.
- The Indian Express website has been rated GREEN for its credibility and trustworthiness by Newsguard, a global service that rates news sources for their journalistic standards.
