NCB was trying only to implicate Aryan Khan in drugs case, SIT finds

The Narcotics Control Bureau team that arrested Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan's son Aryan and 19 others in the Mumbai drugs-on-cruise case did a "shoddy" probe and the special investigation team created to re-investigate the case found "grave irregularities" in their action like not conducting mandatory medical test of the accused, no video recording of the raids or no corroborative evidence against WhatsApp chats.

NCB director general SN Pradhan told PTI it was a case of "underwhelming evidence" as compared to the golden principle of gathering "overwhelming evidence" against the accused.

The NCB also said in a statement that it applied "the touchstone of the principle of proof beyond reasonable doubt" while re-probing this case.

SIT sleuths found the NCB team did many "grave irregularities" and were allegedly just trying to "implicate" Aryan in this case.

The NCB on Friday filed a nearly 6,000-page charge sheet before a Mumbai court against 14 accused in this case of 2021 even as it did not charge six, including Aryan, due to "lack of sufficient evidence."

The charge sheet has a number of annexures like exhibits of a numbers of WhatsApp chats, statements of witnesses and accused and other technical details with the operative portion being about 400 pages.

The court is expected to take its cognisance soon.

"The SIT found there was neither an intent to act nor there was actual act by those who have not been charged. We, however, have physicality of evidence in the case of the 14 accused," Pradhan said.

Those not named or given a clean chit in the charge sheet, filed under various sections of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS)Act, include Aryan, Samir Sehgal, Manav Singhal, Bhaskar Arora, Gopal Ji Anand and Avin Sahu.

The accused named in the charge sheet are Vikrant Chokkar, Mohak Jaswal, Ishmeet S Chadha, Gomit Chopra, Abdul Kadar Shaikh, Shreyas Surendra Nair, Manish Rajgarhia, Chinedu Igwe, Shivraj R Harijan, Nupur Satija, Okoro Uzeoma, Arbaaz Merchant, Mummun Dhamecha and Aachit Kumar.

These 14, according to NCB officers, have been charged by-and-large under sections that deal with consumption/possession of small quantity of drugs and conspiracy under the anti-narcotics law. These offence carry a punishment of about one year and some fine, officials said.

NCB officials said there were gaps in probe at virtually every stage of this case as they said "similar sections" of the NDPS Act were slapped against all of them while rounding them off from the cruise.

Like in the case of Avin Sahu, the NCB officer said, the accused had no drugs on his person but he "admitted" to have consumed drugs but then no medical test was done to corroborate that.

In the case of Mohak Jaiswal, no drugs were found from him but it was found during SIT investigation that he "procured drugs" for his friends. Jaiswal, hence, has been chargesheeted.

The SIT also let off four of the cruise organisers as it went through the "contract" they had inked for organising the cruise party and it was found that they were only responsible for event management and had no knowledge about other things including personal frisking of the participants.

"We have filed the charge sheet on the basis of whatever was found by our special investigation team on the last date of filing the charge sheet," Pradhan said.

He added that no "corroborative evidence" could be found against Aryan and five others who have been let off.

Asked if this was the end of probe in the case or will there be a supplementary charge sheet, the DG said, "As of now you can say, yes, the investigation is done but there are all possibilities in case some some fresh set of facts come to light."

Talking about the role of Khan, who spent 26 days in jail before getting bail in the case, NCB deputy director general (operations) and SIT chief Sanjay Kumar Singh said the "basic premise" that his friend (Arbaaz Merchant) was carrying drugs for him has not been proven and was found to be "fallacious".

"His friend (Arbaaz Merchant) denied that he carried drugs for Aryan Khan. In fact, he told the SIT that Aryan Khan had told him that no drugs should be brought on the cruise as the NCB was very active," Singh said.

He said no evidence was found against Aryan to corroborate that he either consumed, procured or was in any conspiracy, including international linkages with regard to narcotics, and hence the charges against him do not stand legal scrutiny.

The SIT head said "no medical examination" was done by the NCB team after arresting him to prove if he consumed drugs.

He added that "no videography" was done by the NCB team, under its then Mumbai zonal director Sameer Wankhede, of the raids conducted by the agency on the Cordelia cruise on the night of October 2-3 last year.

The SIT also found all the accused were not essentially inter-connected and so bracketed them under 6-7 sub-groups in the charge sheet defining their limited roles.

Singh said Aryan's phone was seized but "legal procedures were not followed" while opening it, adding, "Right from start the seizure of mobile phone was questionable."

He said the statement of deceased witness in this case, Prabhakar Sail, was recorded by the SIT and he told them that he was "made to sign on blank papers" and he did not see the drugs seizure on the cruise. Sail had made allegations that NCB officials were probably looking to extort some money from Aryan's family in order to save him.

The NCB called him hostile before he died in April. The cause of his death was reported to be heart attack.

Another witness in the case who is in jail at present in a Maharashtra police case, Kiran Gosavi, supported the NCB action that was undertaken on that day in October, he said.

When asked any action would be taken against the then Mumbai team headed by Wankhede, Pradhan said, "We cannot immediately jump to accuse the Mumbai unit... They must have had something and to probe this there is another SIT."