Aryan Khan Arrest: Nawab Malik bats for SRK's son, blurts serious allegations against NCB

Maharashtra Cabinet Minister and the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Nawab Malik on Wednesday alleged that Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) raid onboard a Mumbai cruise was "forgery", and BJP has misused the central agency to frame Aryan Khan. Nawab Malik seems to represent a coterie that believes celebrities and important Bollywood stars and their families must not be questioned even if there are serious allegations of drug abuse. The matter has reached court, but some experts believe there is a serious attempt to give this case a different contour by making it a Bollywood prestige issue. All efforts are on to ascribe ulterior motive to NCB and discredit the investigations.

An NCB team busted an alleged drugs party on the Cordelia Cruise ship which was on its way to Goa at mid-sea on Saturday night.

Addressing the media here, the NCP leader alleged that "not even a single gram of drug was seized on the cruise or at the terminal."

"Aryan Khan's arrest is a forgery. For the last one month, information was being circulated to crime reporters that the next target is actor Shah Rukh Khan," said Malik "Not even one gram of drug was seized on the cruise, not even on the terminal. The drug was not even found with any one of the accused. Whatever the video of the sample has been shared by the NCB, it has been made in the Zonal Director's office which is against the procedure of seizure," he added. Citing a video in which those detained from the Mumbai cruise were seen being taken to the NCB office, Mallik alleged that "the person taking him (Aryan Khan) to the office is a BJP leader Manish Bhanushali."

Eight persons including Aryan Khan, Arbaz Seth Merchant, Munmun Dhamecha, Vikrant Chhoker, Ismeet Singh, Nupur Sarika, Gomit Chopra and Mohak Jaswal were produced before Mumbai's Esplanade Court on Monday which remanded them to Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) custody till October 7.

(With ANI inputs)