Aryan Khan case: Timeline of the Mumbai drugs scandal so far
Shah Rukh Khan’s son was arrested early in October at alleged drug party on cruise ship
Shah Rukh Khan’s son Aryan Khan has been granted bail by the Bombay High Court on October 28, along with two others who were arrested by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) in the Mumbai cruise drugs case.
During arguments on Tuesday, former attorney general Mukul Rohatgi argued that Aryan Khan was a “young man” who should be sent to rehab rather than jail.
Here is a full timeline of the cruise drugs case so far:
October 2: NCB conducted a raid at an alleged drugs party on the Cordelia Cruise which was on its way to Goa at mid-sea and detained at least 10 persons.
October 3: Actor Shah Rukh Khan’s son Aryan Khan, his friend Arbaaz Merchant and model Munmun Dhamecha were arrested and remanded to NCB custody till the next day, that is, October 4.
October 4: Aryan Khan and others were again produced before the city court. The NCB claims photos and chats in Aryan’s phone point to an international drug trafficking. The court remands them in further custody till October 7.
October 5: Four more accused were arrested in the matter and were sent to NCB custody till October 14.
October 7: A foreign national was arrested in the matter from Mumbai’s Bandra area. Further, the Mumbai court sent Aryan Khan and seven others to judicial custody for 14 days. Aryan Khan seeks bail.
October 8: The metropolitan magistrate’s court rejected the bail applications filed by Aryan Khan, his friend Arbaaz Merchant and anchor-model Munmun Dhamecha, stating they were not maintainable before it. Further, Aryan Khan and other accused were brought to Arthur Road jail.
October 11: Lawyers of the accused moved a Mumbai special court designated under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act. Special Court decided to hear the case on October 14. The defence lawyers opposed the one-week time sought by the NCB.
October 13: Aryan’s bail application gets adjourned till Thursday, 12 noon (October 14) by Mumbai sessions court.
October 14: Pune City Police has issued a lookout notice for Kiran Gosavi, the witness in the NCB raid on the cruise ship off the Mumbai coast. Further, the Mumbai Special NDPS court reserves its order for October 20 on the bail application of Aryan Khan, Arbaaz Merchant and Munmun Dhamecha. Aryan Khan fails to secure bail and was sent back to jail till Wednesday, October 20.
October 20: Special NDPS court rejects bail plea of Aryan Khan and other accused.
October 21: Shah Rukh Khan meets Aryan Khan in jail. Mumbai’s Special Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) court extended the judicial custody of Aryan Khan and others till October 30.
October 24: The bodyguard of NCB witness Kiran Gosavi, Prabhakar Rohoji Sail alleged that Gosavi took Rs5 million from an individual after the raid at the cruise. Sail is also a witness in the case.
October 26: Bombay High Court on Tuesday adjourned the hearing on the bail application of Aryan Khan.
October 28: Kiran Gosavi was arrested by Pune police. The Bombay High Court resumes hearing on Aryan Khan bail application. Aryan Khan gets bail.
Meanwhile, the NCB has ordered a vigilance inquiry into the claims made by Prabhakar Sail, a witness in the cruise drugs case, of an extortion bid of Rs250 million by some agency officials, including its Mumbai zonal director Sameer Wankhede, for letting off Aryan Khan.