Bollywood actor Ananya Panday appeared for questioning after being summoned by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) on Thursday, October 21. The 22-year-old has been called for questioning reportedly in connection with the drug case involving Aryan Khan, son of superstar Shah Rukh Khan. Ananya Panday is the daughter of actor Chunky Panday. According to news reports, the NCB had submitted WhatsApp chats between Aryan and Ananya to the court on Wednesday, October 20. Meanwhile, NDTV reported that Ananya’s Mumbai home was raided by the NCB. Her laptop and mobile phone have reportedly been seized by NCB officials.
Hours after Shah Rukh Khan visited his son Aryan at the Arthur Road jail in Mumbai on Thursday, NCB officials visited his residence Mannat. "The NCB Mumbai Zonal Unit officials visited 'Mannat', the residence of Aryan Khan in connection with the (Cr.94/21 case) for seeking certain material related to the investigation of the case from Shah Rukh Khan, by following due procedure of notice, etc.," said NCB Zonal Director Sameer Wankhede in a statement later.
He also dismissed reports in sections of the media dubbing the NCB trip to the superstar's sea-facing bungalow as a 'raid'.
Aryan Khan was arrested by the NCB on October 3, after the authorities raided a cruise ship off Mumbai. Presently he is detained in the Arthur Road Central Jail (ARCJ) in Mumbai.
Aryan Khan along with a few others have been booked for offences under Sections 8(c), 20(b), 27, 28, 29 and 35 of the NDPS Act.
On Wednesday, the special NDPS court had rejected the bail application of Aryan Khan. Following which, Aryan Khan has moved to the Bombay High Court. The case will be heard on October 26.
During the bail hearing on October 13, Additional Solicitor General (ASG) Anil Singh, appearing on behalf of the NCB, alleged that Aryan Khan is part of an international drug conspiracy. Since his arrest, the NCB has maintained that though nothing was recovered from him personally, Aryan’s WhatsApp chats allegedly revealed his links with drug peddlers. However, in his bail application, Aryan dubbed the allegation “absurd” and pointed out that no drugs were recovered from him during the cruise ship raid. The agency can continue the probe, but the allegation of links to an international racket against Aryan is “inherently absurd and false”, Aryan’s counsel Amit Desai said.
With IANS inputs