What happened on October 2 during NCB cruise ship raid? Aryan Khan recounts events leading to arrest

Aryan Khan, son of Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan, has been making headlines since the beginning of this month. The 23-year-old became one of the top searched names on the Google and also a hot topic of discussion in Indian household.

Aryan, who usually stays away from the lens of paparazzi and social events, rarely making public appearance alongside his famous parents, SRK and Gauri Khan, found himself in the centre of a drugs case after he was apprehended by the Narcotics Control Bureau on Sunday. The holiday court then sent him, along with seven others arrested in the matter, on the NCB remand which was later extended till October 7.

At the bail hearing on Thursday, the court, while rejecting the NCB's custody extension request, sent Aryan and others to judicial custody for 14 days in the matter. The Mumbai Magistrate court on Friday denied bail to Aryan on the ground that the "plea was not maintainable". The 23-year-old will remain in the Arthur Road jail in Mumbai until further court order.


October 2: The night of raid
Aryan, along with Arbaaz Merchant, Munmun Dhamecha and five others, was detained by the NCB during a raid on a cruise ship off Mumbai coast. The anti-drugs agency carried out the raid based on a tip-off that a rave party was happening onboard. The ship was on its way to Goa from Mumbai.

The NCB during remand hearing had informed the court that it did not recover any incriminating material from Aryan, though it did seize 5 gms of (hashish) from Merchant and 6 gms of cannabis from Dhamecha during the search.

Also read: Who is Satish Maneshinde, the lawyer defending SRK's son Aryan Khan in drugs case?

Meanwhile, Aryan's mobile phone was confiscated and details such as chats, photos were downloaded by the anti-drugs agency for investigation.

During the hearing of bail plea on Thursday as Aryan's NCB remand came to an end, Satish Maneshinde, advocate for SRK's son in the drugs case, recounted the events that unfolded on the night of raid.

According to Maneshinde, Aryan has a friend named Prateek who introduced him to someone who knew the organisers of the party taking place on the cruise ship.

Invited as VVIP guest
Aryan was then invited to the cruise as a VVIP guest, with the sole purpose of "adding glamour to the ship".

"There were 1,300 people and they have arrested only 17," Maneshinde told the court.

In his submission, Maneshinde further informed the court that Prateek is also a friend of Merchant, who was also invited to the cruise.

Aryan, accepting the invitation, arrived on the international terminal of Mumbai port where he then met Merchant, but before the two could go to the ship, they were stopped by the NCB. The anti-drugs agency then questioned Aryan whether he was carrying any drugs, to which the 23-year-old said "no". The NCB then searched Aryan and his bag where they found nothing.

"I(Aryan) reached the gate at the terminal where Arbaaz was also there. Before we could go to the ship, NCB questioned us. When we started for the ship, they asked questions if I(Aryan) took drugs and searched my bags and my person. They found nothing," Maneshinde said in his statement.

Maneshinde further told the court his client doesn't have any connection with the organisers of the party and he never refused or denied his friendship with Merchant. However, Aryan is not connected with Merchant's activities, who himself had arrived to board the ship on his own, the lawyer further pointed out.

Also read: Behind the scenes: Who is Sameer Wankhede, the man investigating Aryan Khan? And why is actress Kranti Redkar proud of him?

During the search, the NCB confiscated Aryan's mobile phone and detained him before placing him under arrest.

Sent on NCB custody till Oct 7
On Sunday, the anti-drugs agency took the eight persons detained in the matter to court where they were placed under a one-day custody of NCB, which was later extended on Monday till October 7.

During the hearing on Thursday, the NCB sought custody of the accused till October 11, which was rejected by the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate RM Nerlikare, stating: "Simply remanding the accused to NCB custody without reason is cogent ground for violating liberty."

The court on Thursday ordered judicial custody for all eight accused for 14-days in the drugs case.