Mumbai cruise rave bust: NCB cites WhatsApp chats; Aryan Khan claims he was special invitee

A Mumbai Court granted the Narcotics Control Bureau custody of Bollywood megastar Shah Rukh Khan's son Aryan Khan and two others till Monday in connection with the drug party bust onboard a cruise ship.

The NCB had originally sought two-day custody of the accused to question them in detail about where they received the narcotics that were seized by the agency's officers from their possession.

In its remand petition, the NCB alleged that Aryan Khan, Arbaaz Merchant and Munmun Dhamecha were arrested for their involvement in the consumption, sale and purchase of 13 grams of cocaine, 5 grams of MD, 21 grams of Charas and 22 pills of MDMA. 

The NCB cited WhatsApp chat conversations, which it claimed established a nexus of the accused with a drug peddler on a regular basis. 

Also Read: Mumbai cruise rave bust: Shah Rukh Khan's son Aryan arrested by NCB

The NCB also claimed that the trio had given their voluntary statements, these statements are to be verified.

However, Advocate Satish Maneshinde, who was appearing for Shah Rukh Khan's son contended that Aryan Khan had been invited onboard the cruise ship by the event organisers and that he had no boarding pass. 

Maneshinde also argued that Aryan's phone was scanned by the authorities to verify his involvement in the possession or consumption of drugs and that nothing was found during the exercise.

Considering that even if the bail application was filed on Sunday evening it would still be heard on Monday, Maneshinde requested the court that the NCB be given custody of his client till then.

Also Read: Mumbai cruise rave bust: How NCB carried out its daring operation

The lawyer representing Arbaaz Merchant and Munmun Dhamcha claimed that the remand application filed by the NCB was very vague and did not specifically mention the seizure made from any of the three arrested suspects.

The NCB countered stating that the law was the same for everyone and custodial interrogation for two days was necessary to verify their statements and to dig deeper into their involvement.

However, after hearing the contentions, the court granted the NCB one-day custody and asked Maneshinde to file the bail application on Monday before a regular court.

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