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The NCB clears Aryan Khan but charges 14 others in a drug case

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3 years ago

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The NCB clears Aryan Khan but charges 14 others in a drug case

New Delhi: The Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) exonerated Aryan Khan, actor Shah Rukh Khan’s son, and five others on Friday, while charging 14 others in a drugs case involving the raid on the yacht Cordelia in Mumbai on October 2.

In March, HT exclusively reported that an NCB Special Investigation Team (SIT) found no evidence that Aryan Khan was involved in a larger drugs conspiracy or an international trafficking ring, and that the raid in which he was arrested had several irregularities.

The SIT, led by Sanjay Kumar Singh, re-examined the case and determined that there is insufficient evidence to pursue it. It was formed after allegations that Aryan Khan was involved in extortion and attempts to extort money surfaced.

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“The SIT conducted its investigation in a fair and objective manner. The standard has been set by the principle of proof beyond a reasonable doubt. A complaint [charge sheet] has been filed against 14 people under various sections of the NDPS [Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances] Act based on SIT’s investigation. “Due to a lack of sufficient evidence, a complaint against the remaining six individuals will not be filed,” NCB said in a statement. Except for Aryan Khan and another person, the rest of the accused were found in possession of drugs when the raid took place, according to the agency.

Aryan Khan’s lawyer, Satish Maneshinde, said his client’s arrest and 26-day detention were unjustified, especially since drugs were not found in his possession. “…no evidence of any kind was found.” There was no evidence of any kind of law violation, let alone the NDPS Act. We are pleased that [the SIT]…investigated the case objectively and determined that there was insufficient evidence to file a complaint [charge-sheet] against Aryan Khan.”

Priyanka Chaturvedi, a member of the ruling Shiv Sena, said the truth had won out and slammed the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for attempting to demonise Maharashtra by misusing central agencies in such cases.

NCB must have explained its position in the charge sheet why Aryan Khan was arrested and why he was in jail, according to BJP leader Madhav Bhandari. “It is their responsibility to explain.” He went on to say that what Maharashtra’s ruling parties say is irrelevant. “Targeting us [the BJP] on every issue is their main business.”

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In an exclusive report published in March, HT reported that, contrary to NCB’s Mumbai unit’s allegations, the SIT’s key findings included the fact that Aryan Khan was never in possession of drugs. As a result, there was no need for him to take out his phone and check his messages. Khan was not mentioned in the chats as being a member of any international gang.

The raid on the yacht was not videotaped as required, and the drugs seized from multiple suspects arrested in the case were listed as a single find.

The raid was carried out by NCB’s former Mumbai Zonal Unit director Sameer Wankhede, who has since been repatriated to his parent cadre. On the night of October 2, Wankhede led a team of officers and some witnesses to the International Cruise Terminal at Green Gate in Mumbai to raid the cruise ship. The vessel was seized with 13 grammes of cocaine, five grammes of mephedrone, 21 grammes of marijuana, 22 MDMA (Ecstasy) pills, and $1.33 lakh in cash.

The preliminary findings of the SIT probe corroborated the observations of the Bombay high court, which granted Khan bail on October 28 last year. “There is no evidence to suggest [the] existence of any conspiracy,” the court said.

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All of the arrested people, witnesses, and officials from NCB’s Mumbai unit who took part in the raid with Wankhede were questioned by SIT as part of the investigation. Khan never asked his friend Arbaaz Merchant to bring drugs on the cruise, according to the report. A separate vigilance investigation is looking into the procedural lapses.

The cruise ship’s 14 passengers were apprehended by NCB. It arrested Aryan Khan, 24, Merchant, 26, and Munmum Dhamecha, 28, on the afternoon of October 3 after hours of interrogation. The agency then arrested 17 more people in connection with the raid.

Wankhede’s team claimed the accused were part of a larger conspiracy based on WhatsApp chats. It was claimed that Aryan Khan had been in contact with a foreign drug supplier, and that the conversations involved “hard drugs” and “bulk quantities.”

NCB’s claims were dismissed by the high court, which noted that there was no evidence of a conspiracy. It stated that the mere fact that Aryan Khan and others were on the cruise together could not be considered a basis for a conspiracy. NCB’s claim that Khan and Merchant told agency officials they were going to consume the six grammes of marijuana was also rejected by the court.

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A key NCB witness, Prabhakar Sail, claimed Wankhede was involved in a $25 million extortion scheme aimed at Khan. He claimed that he was forced to sign blank sheets of paper.

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Year-ender 2024 | Anant Ambani-Radhika Merchant to Sobhita Dhulipala-Naga Chaitanya: Grandest celeb weddings of 2024

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18 hours ago

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December 21, 2024

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Year-ender 2024 | Anant Ambani-Radhika Merchant to Sobhita Dhulipala-Naga Chaitanya: Grandest celeb weddings of 2024

Year ender 2024 | Sonakshi Sinha, Millie Bobby Brown, Keerthy Suresh, Aaliyah Kashyap and Aditi Rao Hydari, a list of celebs who got married this year. 
The year 2024 witnessed the weddings of many celebrities from India as well as from outside the country. The Ambanis, Sonakshi Sinha and Millie Bobby Brown opted for summer weddings. Many other celebrities tied the knot in December, including Sobhita Dhulipala, Keerthy Suresh, and Aaliyah Kashyap. (Also Read | Naga Chaitanya, Sobhita Dhulipala make first public appearance post wedding; visit temple with Nagarjuna. Watch)

Check out the grand weddings that took place in 2024:

1) Anant Ambani and Radhika Merchant

Radhika Merchant and Anant Ambani tied the knot on July 12 this year in Mumbai, as per Hindu rituals. The grand wedding ceremony was followed by a Shubh Aashirvaad ceremony on July 13, which saw the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The grand reception on July 14 was also attended by prominent figures from the entertainment industry.

Global personalities such as John Cena, Kim Kardashian, Boris Johnson and Tony Blair were also part of Anant and Radhika’s wedding functions. The high-profile wedding ceremony saw the presence of celebrities including Priyanka Chopra, Nick Jonas, Rajinikanth, Mahesh Babu, Yash, Shah Rukh Khan, Salman Khan, Ajay Devgn, Vicky Kaushal, Deepika Padukone, Ranveer Singh, Shahid Kapoor, Ranbir Kapoor, Alia Bhatt, Katrina Kaif, and Deepika Padukone, among others.

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2) Sonakshi Sinha and Zaheer Iqbal

Sonakshi Sinha and Zaheer Iqbal got married on June 23 in the presence of their loved ones at their residence in Mumbai. It was an intimate wedding. The civil wedding was followed by a wedding bash at Bastian, which saw Saira Banu, Rekha, Salman Khan, Vidya Balan, and Siddharth Roy Kapur, among others, in attendance. Sonakshi and Zaheer dated for seven years before tying the knot.

3) Sobhita Dhulipala and Naga Chaitanya

Naga Chaitanya and Sobhita Dhulipala got married on December 4 in a traditional Telugu ceremony. The ceremony was held at the iconic Annapurna Studios in Hyderabad in the presence of close friends and family members. The couple made their relationship official in August of this year by sharing photos from their engagement ceremony.

4) Aditi Rao Hydari and Siddharth

Aditi Rao Hydari and Siddharth tied the knot in September. Aditi had shared a series of pictures on Instagram. Both the bride and groom chose ethnic outfits for their wedding. Aditi wrote in the caption, “You are my Sun, my Moon, and all my Stars… To being Pixie Soulmates for eternity…to laughter, to never growing up… To Eternal Love, Light & Magic..Mrs & Mr Adu-Siddhu.”

5) Keerthy Suresh and Antony Thattil

Keerthy Suresh and his long-time partner Anthony Tattil got married in Goa in December. The actor shared her wedding pictures after solemnising her relationship in a traditional ceremony. Keerthy took to Instagram and shared pictures from her special day. She captioned the post, “#ForTheLoveOfNyke.”

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6) Taapsee Pannu and Mathias Boe

Taapsee Pannu tied the knot with Mathias Boe in a traditional ceremony on March 23 in Udaipur, Rajasthan. The wedding was attended by their close friends and family. Anurag Kashyap, Kanika Dhillon and Pavail Gulati were among the celebrities who were part of her special day. Recently, Taapsee revealed that she had a court marriage with Mathias in December 2023. Taapsee dated Mathias for about a decade.

7) Aaliyah Kashyap and Shane Gregoire

Aaliyah Kashyap, daughter of filmmaker Anurag Kashyap and film editor Aarti Bajaj, tied the knot with longtime boyfriend Shane Gregoire on December 11. She announced her engagement to Shane, a US entrepreneur, in May 2023. The couple’s wedding reception was attended by Naga Chaitanya, Sobhita Dhulipala, Abhishek Bachchan, Agastya Nanda, Shah Rukh Khan’s daughter Suhana Khan, Nawazuddin Siddiqui and Bobby Deol.

8) Ira Khan and Nupur Shikhare

Aamir Khan’s daughter Ira Khan and Nupur Shikhare solemnized their relationship via a registered marriage at Taj Lands End, Bandra, in Mumbai on January 3 this year. They then tied the knot as per Christian rituals in Udaipur. After that, the newlyweds hosted a reception for Bollywood and Mumbai celebrities at the Nita Mukesh Ambani Cultural Centre in the city.

9) Charlie Puth and Brooke Sansone

Singer-songwriter Charlie Puth married his fiancee, Brooke Sansone, in September this year, just one year after their engagement. The couple exchanged vows at his family’s estate in Montecito, California, on September 7. In a heartfelt Instagram post announcing the news, Charlie expressed his deep affection for his new bride. He shared a series of intimate photographs from the ceremony.

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10) Millie Bobby Brown and Jake Bongiovi

Millie Bobby Brown married singer Jon Bon Jovi’s son, Jake Bongiovi, in an intimate ceremony in June. In October, she shared some wedding pictures on Instagram. Along with the pictures, Millie added a caption that read, “Forever and always, your wife.” Earlier in June, Millie confirmed her secret marriage to Jake.

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