Aryan Khan case: Key findings of NCB's SIT suggest SRK's son not part of conspiracy

A Special Investigation Team (SIT) of the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB), set up to investigate the Aryan Khan drug case, has found no evidence against him as being part of a larger drugs conspiracy or an international drugs trafficking syndicate.

SIT also found that there were several irregularities in the raid conducted on the yacht during which the son of actor Shah Rukh Khan was arrested, media report suggests. Meanwhile, the former NCB Mumbai Zonal Chief Sameer Wankhede, who was the officer in charge of the case, gave his reaction on the matter.

Sameer Wankhede to Zee

First of all 2 courts had rejected the bail so we cannot say the action was wrong as the matter is subjudice. The SIT formed had the task to look into the corruption angle not the merits of the case. That's for the courts to decide. Thirdly the zonal director is not the authority to decide the arrest.

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Key findings of the SIT

Aryan Khan was never in possession of drugs hence there was no need to take his phone and check his chats.

Aryan Khan's WhatsApp chats do not suggest that the actor's son was part of any international drugs syndicate.

The raid on the yacht was not video-recorded as mandated by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) manual.

The drugs recovered during the raid from multiple accused arrested in the case was shown as single recovery.

Sameer Wankhede has been examined multiple times, both by the SIT and the agency's vigilance team.

SIT probe is not complete and could take some months to submits its final report to NCB Director General S N Pradhan.

Read | Nawab Malik calls Aryan drugs case 'farziwada', demands suspension of NCB officer Sameer Wankhede

What is the case?

Sameer Wankhede led a team of officers and some witnesses on the night of October 2, 2021 to raid a cruise ship off the coast of Mumbai.

NCB seized 13 grams of cocaine, five grams of mephedrone, 21 grams of marijuana, 22 pills of MDMA (Ecstasy) and Rs 1.33 lakh in cash from cruise vessel.

Aryan Khan who was present there was arrested along with his friend Arbaaz Merchant and a fashion model named Munmun Dhamecha.

Subsequently, the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) arrested 17 more persons in connection with the raid on the cruise ship.

Bombay High Court granted bail to Aryan Khan on October 28, 2021 on grounds that there was no evidence to suggest existence of any conspiracy.

The high-profile case got shrouded in controversy when a key witness Prabhakar Sail made some startling allegations on Sameer Wankhede.

The witness alleged that NCB Mumbai Zonal Chief Sameer Wankhede was part of a Rs 25 crore extortion racket targeting Aryan Khan .

Prabhakar Sail also alleged that he was forced to sign sheets of blank paper, prompting the anti-drug agency to set up an inquiry into Wankhede.