The Special Investigation Team (SIT) of the Narcotics Control Bureau — which is probing the Mumbai drugs-on-cruise-case involving Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan’s son, Aryan — has sought an additional 90 days time from
a Mumbai Sessions Court to file the chargesheet in the matter, contending probe was still on. The SIT, headed by Sanjay Singh, was supposed to file the chargesheet by April 2.
The central agency filed the application before a court presided over by Judge VV Patil praying that it be granted an additional 90 days to file the document. In accordance with the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC), the drug law enforcement outfit was supposed to file the chargesheet in the October 2021 case within 180 days of the registration of the FIR. In case a prosecuting agency requires further time, the CrPC allows it to seek a maximum extension of another 90 days to file such a document.
Aryan Khan was arrested on October 3 last year in connection with the alleged seizure of drugs from a Goa-bound cruise ship. He had spent three weeks in jail before the Bombay High Court granted him bail on October 28. During his time in custody, Aryan’s WhatsApp chats were analysed and he was questioned by the NCB.
Aryan was named an accused along with 19 others by the NCB. The accused persons were booked under relevant sections of the Narcotics Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act (NDPS) for possession, consumption, sale/purchase of banned drugs, conspiracy and abetment, among others.
The high-profile case was a subject of much debate, scrutiny and discussion. It also saw a new twist after an NCB witness claimed that a Rs 25-crore money deal was made on behalf of some NCB officials, including zonal director Sameer Wankhede, to let off Aryan, a charge that was dismissed by the agency.
Wankhede was later removed as the lead investigator of the case as he was facing a slew of allegations ranging from bribery, extortion, and questions over his ‘extravagant’ lifestyle.
The case got even murkier as the Delhi team of the NCB found, after taking over the investigation, that there had been major procedural lapses.
(With PTI inputs)
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