Several irregularities in drugs on cruise case probe involving Aryan Khan: NCB's report

The Narcotics Control Bureau’s (NCB’s) inquiry into the probe of the drugs-on-cruise case in which Aryan Khan was arrested last year has flagged several irregularities but found no evidence of extortion, an official said on Tuesday.

The federal anti-drug agency had instituted an inquiry after several lacunae were found in the probe of the alleged drug seizure from a cruise ship here last October.

Aryan Khan, son of Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan, was arrested after a raid on the ship, but got bail after three weeks with the agency failing to substantiate its charges against him.

A special investigation team which looked into the probe of the case submitted its vigilance report a few weeks ago, the NCB official said. It video-recorded the statements of 65 people during the inquiry, he said. It found several irregularities in the investigation and flagged “suspicious behaviour” of seven to eight officers of the NCB.

Questions were also raised about the intention of the officers involved in the investigation and some people were found to have changed their statements many times, the official said. “We did not find any kind of extortion bid in this case,” he added.

It had been alleged that NCB officials were trying to extort money from some accused for letting them off the hook. There was “selective treatment” and procedural lapses during the probe, the official said.

The report recommended action against erring officers including those who were deputed to the NCB at the time, he said.

Indian Revenue Service officer Sameer Wankhede was the Mumbai zonal director of the bureau when the raid was conducted on the cruise.