Ananya Pandey gives day 3 of NCB questioning a miss citing 'personal commitments', seeks more time

Bollywood actress Ananya Pandey, who is under the scanner of the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) in connection with the ongoing drugs-on-cruise case, on Monday skipped the anti-drug agency's summon, citing "personal commitments".

According to a report in ANI, the actress has requested a further date for the questioning and the central agency has acceded to her request. It will now issue fresh summons for another date, ANI said in a tweet, citing sources.



Earlier on October 21, the NCB had conducted a raid at Ananya's Bandra residence and summoned her for questioning after her name cropped up in certain WhatsApp chats of Aryan Khan. According to reports, the central agency seized Ananya's mobile phone and her laptop during the raid and had summoned her to appear before it later in the day.

Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan's son Aryan was arrested by the anti-drugs agency on October 3 during a raid on a cruise ship off the Mumbai coast on its way to Goa after the NCB had received a tip off that a rave party was happening onboard. Aryan, along with others, is currently lodged in the Arthur Road jail in Mumbai central and will stay in custody till October 30 unless granted bail in the matter.

According to reports, the NCB is questioning Ananya, daughter of actor Chunky Pandey, in connection with her WhatsApp chats with Aryan where the former agreed to arrange contraband for the accused. However, during the first round of questioning, the actress denied the allegations of supplying and consuming drugs, saying she was "just joking" in the chat. Ananya, who arrived at the NCB office in south Bombay with her father for the first round of questioning on Thursday, was quizzed for over four hours.

The questioning continued on Friday as well where the actress reportedly was also remanded for arriving at the anti-drugs agency's office late. "You were asked to come at 11.00 am and you are arriving now. Officers are not sitting here, waiting for just you..... This is not your production house, this is the office of a central agency. Come at the time you are called at," ANI had reported their sources quoting Wankhede as saying.

So far, the NCB has arrested a total of 20 people in the matter. The Bombay High Court has scheduled the bail hearing of Aryan for October 26 while requesting the anti-drugs agency to file its reply by Monday